Now I'm older, and my excitement comes from other sources. See below.
Here's Katie and our Christmas tree. This Christmas was wonderful all-around. Sam and Katie are at just the right age to be thrilled by everything, and Grace and Isaac groove on all the activity.
In early December, there was a birthday party for Jesus at Katie, Grace, and Isaac's school. Each class performed some Christmas songs. Katie shone. After the singing, everyone got together in the fellowship hall for birthday cake and a visit from Santa. Here is Grace (showing some attitude) and her amazing teacher, Ms. Summer.
Rosy-cheeked Isaac and the wonderful Mrs. Tasha. I always marvel that she is able to wear those super-hoop earrings and the babies don't pull on them.
Isaac flirting with some of his favorite ladies, Ms. Barbara and Ms. Lauren.
Katie with her teacher from last year, Ms. Veronica (which Katie still pronounces as Ms. Harmonica.) Note Sam being a crazy man in the background.
Sam and Katie were in the children's Christmas program at church. They played animals in the stable. Sam was a cheetah, and Katie was a monkey. The presence of those underrepresented animals isn't often noted in the commonly retold stories of the Nativity. This is the kids relaxing at home after the Saturday dress rehearsal. They didn't want to take off their costumes.
The whole stable. Not a donkey in the bunch, but lots of dogs, monkeys, and elephants. (You go with what costumes you have access to.) Sam is the smiling cheetah towards left-center, and Katie is on the right side, in front of Mary.
Grandma and Grandpa Becker visited for a few days at Christmas. We also had a great visit from Grandpa Jorgensen, but we had so much fun that we forgot to get out the camera.
Christmas eve.
Ah, the draw of the flames.
The Christmas crew. Moments later, wrapping paper was everywhere. In Arlington, we had the first white Christmas since 1922. It was beautiful.
Grace and Katie making mud in the backyard the day after Christmas. The following day, we drove up to Minnesota to visit the Strei family. It takes two days of driving. Dave does all the driving, and I do kid duty in the back seat. We have four excellent travelers.
At Grandma and Grandpa Strei's farm. Here is Aunt Lisa with the newest member of the clan, Elijah. In two-dimensions, you cannot appreciate the size of this boy's cheeks. They are gravity-defying, and cute as all get-out.
Sam, Katie, and Gabriel playing marbles with Uncle Tim.
Grace had fun feeding toffee popcorn to Grandpa. She got a big kick out of Dad's beard.
Ah, those cheeks again. Aunt Lisa, Elijah, me, Isaac, and Grace.
Grandma and Grace. (If you look closely in the background, you can see my senior photo from 1989. A wicker chair and gargantuan glasses frames. The good ol' 80s.)
Uncle Tim and Katie working on one of the many puzzles they built together.
Bundling up for the trip to get the Christmas tree.
Dad (Grandpa Strei) tied four tobaggans behind the tractor. Then all the cousins (and Dave) got on the sleds and Tim drove the tractor about a mile to cut down a tree from the old Christmas tree farm. All the older kids loved it, but the younger ones only lasted about halfway. Lisa and I walked home with Elijah and Isaac, and I had to go pick up Grace with the van. Once they were back at home, all nice and toasty with Grandma, they were happy again.
Isaac enjoying the wintery weather.
The view from the toboggans.
Dave and Katie on the way out to the tree-cutting.
The product of the journey.
Sam enjoying the drifts. He and Benjamin, Noah, and Lauren had a grand time sledding and generally carousing in the snow.
Uncle Dave holding Lauren and Katie.
The Lego maniacs, Sam and Benjamin.
Enjoying an ice-cream bar from Grandpa.
Dave and Tim playing a tight match of Bendominoes.
Dad doing dish duty after feeding the whole crew. Mom and Dad hosted the whole family - 9 grandkids and 9 adults. It was so much fun to all be together.
After a few days on the farm, we drove up to the Twin Cities to see Uncle Bob. The kids had a great time playing at his apartment and entertaining him with all the Christmas carols they could think of.
After visiting Uncle Bob, we joined the DuBois family for a delicious turkey dinner. Julie and I were college roommates. All our kids (except Grace) are matching genders and were born within three months of each other: Sam and Luke, Katie and Monica, Isaac and Benjamin. Funny to think that back in college, even marriage seemed unimaginable. And look at us now.
Then we spent New Year's Eve at Tina's cozy house. All the kids were completely intrigued with her cat, Ketchup, who thankfully survived the experience. (Julie and Tina are my winter camping compatriots mentioned in the earlier story.)
The aroma of homemade cinnamon rolls on New Years Day.
On the 1st, we began our journey back home, but we were able to stop in Omaha for a nice visit with Great Grandpa Quest (Dave's grandpa on his mom's side).
After dinner, Great Grandpa took all the kids down the hall for an ice cream.
Yes, moments later, she did get her head stuck. :)
Here's Katie and our Christmas tree. This Christmas was wonderful all-around. Sam and Katie are at just the right age to be thrilled by everything, and Grace and Isaac groove on all the activity. 
In early December, there was a birthday party for Jesus at Katie, Grace, and Isaac's school. Each class performed some Christmas songs. Katie shone. After the singing, everyone got together in the fellowship hall for birthday cake and a visit from Santa. Here is Grace (showing some attitude) and her amazing teacher, Ms. Summer.
Rosy-cheeked Isaac and the wonderful Mrs. Tasha. I always marvel that she is able to wear those super-hoop earrings and the babies don't pull on them. 
Isaac flirting with some of his favorite ladies, Ms. Barbara and Ms. Lauren.
Katie with her teacher from last year, Ms. Veronica (which Katie still pronounces as Ms. Harmonica.) Note Sam being a crazy man in the background.
Sam and Katie were in the children's Christmas program at church. They played animals in the stable. Sam was a cheetah, and Katie was a monkey. The presence of those underrepresented animals isn't often noted in the commonly retold stories of the Nativity. This is the kids relaxing at home after the Saturday dress rehearsal. They didn't want to take off their costumes.
The whole stable. Not a donkey in the bunch, but lots of dogs, monkeys, and elephants. (You go with what costumes you have access to.) Sam is the smiling cheetah towards left-center, and Katie is on the right side, in front of Mary.
Grandma and Grandpa Becker visited for a few days at Christmas. We also had a great visit from Grandpa Jorgensen, but we had so much fun that we forgot to get out the camera.
Christmas eve.
Ah, the draw of the flames.
The Christmas crew. Moments later, wrapping paper was everywhere. In Arlington, we had the first white Christmas since 1922. It was beautiful.
Grace and Katie making mud in the backyard the day after Christmas. The following day, we drove up to Minnesota to visit the Strei family. It takes two days of driving. Dave does all the driving, and I do kid duty in the back seat. We have four excellent travelers.
At Grandma and Grandpa Strei's farm. Here is Aunt Lisa with the newest member of the clan, Elijah. In two-dimensions, you cannot appreciate the size of this boy's cheeks. They are gravity-defying, and cute as all get-out.
Sam, Katie, and Gabriel playing marbles with Uncle Tim.
Grace had fun feeding toffee popcorn to Grandpa. She got a big kick out of Dad's beard.
Ah, those cheeks again. Aunt Lisa, Elijah, me, Isaac, and Grace. 
Grandma and Grace. (If you look closely in the background, you can see my senior photo from 1989. A wicker chair and gargantuan glasses frames. The good ol' 80s.)
Uncle Tim and Katie working on one of the many puzzles they built together.
Bundling up for the trip to get the Christmas tree.
Dad (Grandpa Strei) tied four tobaggans behind the tractor. Then all the cousins (and Dave) got on the sleds and Tim drove the tractor about a mile to cut down a tree from the old Christmas tree farm. All the older kids loved it, but the younger ones only lasted about halfway. Lisa and I walked home with Elijah and Isaac, and I had to go pick up Grace with the van. Once they were back at home, all nice and toasty with Grandma, they were happy again.
Isaac enjoying the wintery weather.
The view from the toboggans.
Dave and Katie on the way out to the tree-cutting.
The product of the journey.
Sam enjoying the drifts. He and Benjamin, Noah, and Lauren had a grand time sledding and generally carousing in the snow.
Uncle Dave holding Lauren and Katie.
The Lego maniacs, Sam and Benjamin.
Enjoying an ice-cream bar from Grandpa.
Dave and Tim playing a tight match of Bendominoes.
Dad doing dish duty after feeding the whole crew. Mom and Dad hosted the whole family - 9 grandkids and 9 adults. It was so much fun to all be together.
After a few days on the farm, we drove up to the Twin Cities to see Uncle Bob. The kids had a great time playing at his apartment and entertaining him with all the Christmas carols they could think of.
After visiting Uncle Bob, we joined the DuBois family for a delicious turkey dinner. Julie and I were college roommates. All our kids (except Grace) are matching genders and were born within three months of each other: Sam and Luke, Katie and Monica, Isaac and Benjamin. Funny to think that back in college, even marriage seemed unimaginable. And look at us now.
Then we spent New Year's Eve at Tina's cozy house. All the kids were completely intrigued with her cat, Ketchup, who thankfully survived the experience. (Julie and Tina are my winter camping compatriots mentioned in the earlier story.)
The aroma of homemade cinnamon rolls on New Years Day.
On the 1st, we began our journey back home, but we were able to stop in Omaha for a nice visit with Great Grandpa Quest (Dave's grandpa on his mom's side). 
After dinner, Great Grandpa took all the kids down the hall for an ice cream. 
Yes, moments later, she did get her head stuck. :)