Danny, Katie, and the Kids: Christmas Adam and Eve

This year's Call Family Christmas was on Christmas Adam. We had everyone here this year, and it was a blast! Grandma and Papa had all of their kids and all of their grandkids under their roof for Christmas, which was a pretty special treat. Originally, Grandma had planned to make Christmas houses with the kids out of graham crackers, frosting, and candy. Until Papa came across an even better (and easier!) idea. We made Christmas Trees out of sugar cones! Pure genius. The kids had a ball!

When I told Danny about his Dad's genius idea, Danny thought we ought to be making Christmas Teepees instead of trees. The idea caught on pretty quick. Aunt Katie took it upon herself to make the Call's first Christmas Teepee. I think it turned out pretty good!

After everyone's trees/teepees were complete, and the kids were all hopped up on sugary goodness, we had some dinner. Spaghetti and Meatballs fed the troops this year, and it worked out great! Especially because I made the double batch of sauce and meatballs two days before, so all we had to do was take it out and stick it in the crockpot that morning and dinner was basically done! Another genius Christmas idea. :)

Following dinner, we all headed downstairs for the first annual Call Christmas Pageant. This was Grandma's favorite part. When she was a little girl growing up in Livermore, California, her family didn't have extended family close to spend the holidays with. So they would gather with friends and put on a Christmas Pageant every year. Finally, Grandma had enough grandkids for the Nativity! She spent all day working on costumes so that everything would be just perfect.

But there was one last childhood memory of Grandma's that she just had to live vicariously through Claire. Apparently, Grandma always did a free-style interpretive dance to a song titled "Little Snow Girl". Grandma designed and constructed a costume for Claire, and after just a couple of rehearsals, Claire was ready. She did an awesome job dancing, was cute as could be, and did an excellent job of getting the pageant started.

Finally, it was time for the long awaited Nativity! The cast was as follows: Claire was Mary, Braxton was Joseph, Sophie and Ruby were angels (though Ruby wasn't really in the mood), Johnny and Tavin were the shepherds, and Andi was a lamb with her special shepherd, her Daddy. It was the cutest darn Nativity ever!

Grandma was feeling pretty good about things at this point. But we weren't done yet! Since we had to get the kids out of their costumes, we figured it was a good time to open up the Christmas jammies from Grandma and Papa! Again, the cuteness was almost more than a person could take!

Johnny really liked hanging out with Andi, and all the Christmas excitement was just too much!

"What, you're not supposed to kiss your cousins? I wish someone had told me! My mouth was open and everything! No wonder Andi seemed so freaked out..."

And of course, we had to get the Great Grandmas in on the action! The picture action, not the kissing action. :)

Yet still, we were not done. Grandma wanted to finish off the evening with some singing time for the kids to get them settled down before we had the more spiritual side of things. This was Sophie's time to shine. All the songs were ones they've been working on at school. When Sophie was at school, she wouldn't sing a single word. But apparently, she was learning them! She took control and made sure everyone was following along with Grandma. It was quite possibly the cutest thing all evening. That's my girl!

Once the kids were settled down a bit, we watched a short DVD with pictures about the life of the Savior with "O, Holy Night" playing in the background. After which, Papa closed the evening with his testimony. It was so special to be there as an entire family, and feel the spirit of the season so strong. Our Call Christmas on Christmas Adam was the perfect way to kick off Christmas.

Of course, after Christmas Adam comes Christmas Eve! This used to be the day that everyone gathered at Grandma and Papa's for Call Christmas. But with all the local in-laws, scheduling wouldn't permit it, which was why it was bumped up a day. But, we still had the traditional Chinese dinner and a movie on Christmas Eve. This year's movie was "MegaMind", and it was thoroughly enjoyable! As was the food. As always.

Now, Grandma was on a roll after the pageant success. She decided she wanted to make cardboard cutouts of Mary and Joseph and dress them up in the costumes from the night before. This Nativity would then be placed on the front porch, with lighted lanterns along the sidewalk. Papa checked out of the craziness at this point, and Grandma was on her own! With the help of Claire and Sophie, of course. It turned out pretty cute! Claire did a great job drawing the faces on Mary and Joseph, and finally Grandma felt that the Christmas season was complete.