Pogue Family Christmas...

This year we celebrated the Pogue Family Christmas in Bowing Green at the beautiful home of one of my cousins, Shannon Maglinger and her husband Paul.  Even though it was December 2nd, the temperature was 70 and we were able to enjoy their fabulous outdoor area that was just completed this past summer.  The guys played basketball, some played ping pong, the kids played on the slide, and some watched football on the big screen outside while sitting around the cozy fire.  It it had been up to the kids, I'm sure most of the them would have been in the pool (or hot tub), but we were able to keep them dry.

We had a wonderful meal and then played outside some more before coming inside to the excitement of Santa Claus paying a visit to the kids.  He delivered presents to all of the kids and each one sat in his lap for a photo.

Not EVERYONE was happy to see Santa!

We even had a photo session.  The ones I took from my camera are NOT good but I will have to upload the real ones at another time!  Considering the large group that we had, I think they turned out great!

After Santa left, they broke out the Wii--Dance Party 3 and we shared lots of laughs watching the kids (and adults) break out in dance!  It was so cute to see the little ones trying to mimick the older ones dance moves.

And of course, no Pogue family gathering would be complete without some singing!

We had a great time--it was nice to be able to see cousins and aunts and uncles that we only get to see a handful of times a year and the kids loved getting to play with their 2nd cousins too.  We got home VERY late but it was worth it! 

I'm so glad that we continue to get together as one big, HUGE family even thoug it is a busy time of the year.  I love making these wonderful memories not only for myself but for my family too.  I'm so thankful for a close-knit, Christian family and the love that we all have for one another.