And then we did a little singing, Easy Bake Oven style:

Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday, dear Jesus,
Happy birthday to you.

It starts out with, “We need a light bulb, some bath wash and a jar of Tums.” Then, before you know it, you’ve picked out a little somethin’-somethin’ for those late night cravings and a billion rolls of toilet paper so you won’t run out on Christmas Day.

Aunt Kristin and Livia, snuggled on the couch while watching Elf.

A day that starts with this kind of view is a day that starts out right. It’s been a beautiful and very full kind of Monday, and tonight finds me thankful for the God who made both this sunrise and each member of my family. We celebrated Christmas with the Lawton side tonight. From the crazy squeals of happy little girls, to good connection with the women of our family, to a delicious ham dinner—I am grateful.

Photos by Livia, taken on my iPod Touch. Granted, I gave her the iPod with explicit instructions it was only for playing kid games (she has a Livia folder with apps I’ve picked), typing on a notepad and—she always reminds me of this one—using a flashlight app. Um, did anyone see “playing with the camera” in that lineup? Yeah, I didn’t either. And yet, I found charm in the end product.

Don’t tell her she’s featured in the December Photo Project today. ;)

Liv, my little tape dispenser, during our gift-wrapping afternoon.

I was dropping a friend off to pick up her car when… Wait a minute. That looks like Matt Damon! Yes, Matt Damon indeed. Well, kinda.

Some days you have to get pretty creative for the DPP. Other days, you let someone else get creative and simply capture it with your own camera.