Christmas Day with the Liller, Elmlinger & Sanders families

It's been awhile since my entire family has been together in one place, so it was especially exciting for me to have them all come here to Indianapolis to share Christmas with us. My brother flew in from New York City (to Cincinnati) on Friday night and my sister, brother-in-law and nephew flew in from New Jersey (also to Cincy) on Sunday. They all drove up here on Christmas day and stayed overnight. It was a really great time for all of us (and we finally had enough space to house everyone now that our basement is completely finished!!!)

My immediate family from L to R: youngest sister Melissa (Sanders), my dad, my older brother Greg, my mom and me. Yes, I'm the middle child ;o)
Everyone had a great time opening gifts and enjoying each others company.
My nephew Kyle is in AWE of the Wiggles book he got.
Evan opens a gift as a cute Kyle (with bow in hair) looks on.
Uncle Greg checks out Blake's remote controlled doggie.

Christmas Eve & Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was so much fun, it took us back to our own childhoods. After singing Happy Birthday to Jesus, it was on to opening the presents.

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, only 2 kids were stirring, writing their letters to a mouse . . . I mean Santa!
I think Blake was more concerned with getting all the paper off the gifts than the gifts themselves!
Evan and Grant couldn't unwrap the gifts quick enough!
All 3 boys after the mayhem had ended.

Christmas Card Greetings!

Merry Christmas!!!
We know it's a busy time of year, but we didn't order enough Christmas cards (seems to happen every year), so we thought we would post it so the in-towners can view it on the blog! In late October, a good friend and neighbor (who is a professional photographer) took family portraits for us - and it was actually a pleasant experience! The boys did great, and we got some really great pictures. I'm excited to get them all hung up, especially the big 20X24 for over our fireplace in the family room! In our almost 12 years of marriage, we've never done professional pictures, so it was definitely worth the money! It's kinda sad to see all the boys growing up, so these pictures will be treasured for a lifetime!
We'll try to post more pics later, but if we don't get any more up before Christmas - we want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May God bless each and every one of you, our dear friends and family!!!
Love, Shawn, Beth, Evan, Grant and Blake

Baking Cookies

Just a lazy Saturday morning in the Liller kitchen - okay, well not really lazy - but the boys had a blast helping to bake some Christmas cookies (which, by the way, are all gone now!!!)
I think Blake liked playing in the flour more than anything
"This flour is so much fun to play in, I wonder what it tastes like???" Evan decided to be funny as well, pretending to eat the sprinkles
Grant just wanted to roll the dough

It's the Baby Jesus!
"Nutcracker, meet Santa Claus. I'm bigger than you, so you're goin' DOWN!"
Santa takes the hit!