a very stoll-y christmas to you!

ok, i tried to condense our wonderful christmas eve into a few pictures and wasn't super successful. but, i did get it down to under a dozen . . . chosen from a good couple hundred, so you really SHOULD be impressed, right?

we had a wonderful day yesterday celebrating the birth of our savior and the preciousness of family being together! the afternoon family service at roseville lutheran was beautiful and meaningful. we had a blast at ama & bopbop's house with a yummy dinner, family and great gifts as a bonus! we were all really tired and had a little trouble mustering enthusiasm to go out in the cold to the 11 o'clock service at church, but were blessed by going: seeing friends, worshipful music, lots of great hugs, wishes of merry christmas, some beautiful candles and a great time of reflection. i told a few people that they got anna's precious baby sounds at no extra charge to add to the feel of the night . . . celebrating the birth of our savior as a precious little babe born to a young virgin. anna chimed in at exactly the right times when it added to the intended meaning of the moment. good job, sweet girl! (she's especially bright i think!)

here's a little visual re-cap of our celebration for ya:

merry christmas . . . stoll style!

just a little excited?? if you know lydia very well at all, you can tell a lot from these pictures . . . as they say: "worth a thousand words!" make that 2,000!

yup, he's in tears! (and was speechless for at least 45 seconds!) he has asked for an ipod for, i think, 3 years now. those amazing grandparents: they outdid themselves and made many wishes come true for their favorite kiddos all in a matter of minutes!

rebekah and kit! so happy!!

the 6 "carlson" cousins: anna, jacob, joe, lydia, rebekah & haddon

now it's anna's turn to open a present: "yumm. you gotta love a delicious gift tag following her supper of ham and potatoes!"

joe asked santa for a mr. potato head and a thomas the tank engine: and we have another winner!! so many happy children . . . (ok, so i know he might not LOOK super happy to you, but trust me, he was!)


haddon's first christmas . . . look how much he's lovin' it: check out that sweet face. chillin' with his wonderful parents luke and jenn!

the 2 newest memebers of our family, molly & kit, with their proud mamma's

the 2008 mother's of the year and their precious babes (alright, there was no official vote or anything, but all the people in the room at the time would have agreed we were the mother's of the year . . . although they might be a little biased.)

ama & bopbop with their newest little grandbaby

praise God for the birth of his Son and reason to celebrate this day!