The Hayes family all arrived in Beaumont for Christmas in shifts. We arrived first, so we got some much needed one-on-one time with Gma and Gpa. With our first place arrival, we also got first pick on the rooms, and we obviously chose Nat's old room aka "The Cave." The only window in there goes out to the garage, so you don't have to worry about any light coming in. Plus, the cave is also pretty far away from the main area, so we all slept pretty well over the holiday, considering. I'm always amazed as the years go by how we all continue to fit in our usual areas of the house even when our numbers are increasing. It makes for a super fun Christmas vacation as long as no one starts puking. Luckily, this year the stomach bug did not make an appearance; however, some did enjoy the occasional fever, sniffles, pink eye, and lice. Good times. Sickness aside, I think we all had one of our best family gatherings to date. The cousins all had a blast (I literally only saw Hazel when she had to go potty or wanted to eat), the adults enjoyed our late night chatting, and we were able to celebrate Dad's retirement!
We went to Dad's office for the last time and while we were there, they took out my stitches.
The toddler boys playing ball - Miles, Grayson, and Ty
Ikey and G
The Fab 4 (one from each Hayes kid - Ty, Hazel, Faith, Miles)
The "baby" boys - FoFo and G
The crafters - Bella, Eva, Cerra
The gamers
I came in and found them like this. Not staged.
Grayson did not mind all the attention he got from his cousins.
Christmas Tradition - Family Nativity
Ty and Hazel as Joseph and Mary
(They were surprisingly reverent in their roles.)
After that we spied on Santa and saw him bring a Christmas Eve gift - our jammies!
When Santa brings out the old school jammies, we bring out the old school family photo.
Christmas morning!
I got James some boring stuff like athletic pants and a Dallas Cowboys canvas for the media room, and he outdid me again and got me this pretty pot and made me a beautiful table! Lucky!
We also took some family pictures while everyone (except Jeff) was there. Love my siblings! All so different and all so fun.
The best night we had as adults was celebrating Dad's retirement. Matt put together a tribute of sorts, comparing mom's and his years of service to the "fruits of their labors." Kylene even found the perfect tiered fruit basket as a gift because their fruit basket and plate are always overflowing. Everyone contributed by sharing experiences in which we, as well as extended family members and friends, have benefited from Dad's medical knowledge (and Mom's inspiration in a lot of cases). Experiences dear to our hearts were brought up and I'm not sure anyone had a dry eye. Dad told us one of his great desires was to be able to bless his family with his knowledge, and he has definitely been able to do just that. His work will never been done with his family though because he continues to get late night or emergency calls from his kids on a regular basis. I'm sure there's never been a greater doctor in the world, but as Dad said, his greatest title is MD - My Daddy. Somehow in all my years at home, I never felt that I was put last, even with how busy he was with work and church callings. However he did that, I don't know, but I'm so grateful to have been raised by such amazing parents. I'm so excited for them to have a little time together as he retires, and I'm thrilled to be able to see them for longer periods of time, as he won't have to rush back to work!
Santa left a few gifts at home for Hazel and Grayson - a bball goal and an art easle. We also left Gma and Gpa Palmer's gifts at home, so Christmas was extended when we got back to Dallas, and the kids were not sad about that.
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