Tidings of Great Joy: Christmas Traditions

You don't have to be famous to have a stable of paparazzi clicking away trying to capture the perfect shot. My mom's birthday and our family's Christmas Eve gathering have a good share of "Smile!" "Look this way!" and "Wait! Just one more!"

My mom celebrated her 84th birthday on December 24.  Ever since the grandchildren were little, we've been taking a photo of the birthday girl with the troops.The first one with all seven of them was in 1994.

From left: Abby, Brian, Blake, Mom holding Madison, Jill, Brent & Paige

The grandchildren shot is easier these days.Wow! They're all looking the same direction.

From left: Abby, Mom, Brent, Madison, Paige, Brian, Jill and Blake

Grandpa gets in on the action in some of the photos, too.

 

These days, my parents' great-grandchildren are the little kids in the Christmas/birthday photos.

This year, we were missing one of the 10 great-grands. He was a sad little boy to miss the shenanigans with all the cousins, but the other mommies and daddies were glad he kept his stomach virus at home.

With the great-grands getting a little older, the yearly shot is getting somewhat easier.

 

Cake time! The troops disbursed. No more holding the pose.

Someone suggested an "outlaw" photo. So they got in on the photos this year, too.

We were missing one grandson-in-law who was home with the sick boy.

This was the entire gathering - minus my brother, Kent - who took the photo.

We've moved the evening meal to the shed to accommodate the crowd. 

The Moore "kids" have been the stars of Christmas photos for quite some time. Though my brother, Kent, was born in December 1966, he didn't make the Christmas card until 1967. This is the first photo card with all my siblings. I would have been 10, Lisa, 9, Darci, 6 and Kent was 1.

We haven't changed a bit.

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We were glad to have some extra chore helpers around here last weekend. Kinley and Brooke helped Grandpa water the cows ...

 ... and feed hay and grain.

The cattle aren't the only ones growing this year. Kinley's 8th birthday is coming up soon, so it was time to add her height to the family growth chart.

Since Brooke's 5-year-old height hadn't yet been recorded, Grandpa measured her, too. Kinley is a bit shorter than her mommy was at the same age. Brooke is taller, but not as tall as Uncle Brent.

The girls helped light the Advent candle at their church in Topeka early in December. Then, on December 22, Kinley and I read the Advent devotional and Grandpa lit the candles at the Stafford United Methodist Church. It gave this Grandma a bit of deja vu, since it was something that their mommy and Brent did as children. They also got the candy bags that our church has been giving out at Christmas for 90 years now. This year, Randy and I got the candy and stuffed the bags, carrying on a tradition for one of our church's patriarchs who died this year.

And, of course, it wouldn't be Christmas without some presents. They might have gotten one or two.