Or in other words Christmas as we know it. Everyone has Christmas in their own style and this is ours. A tree full of ornaments with presents nestled beneath that two kids check daily to see just how many hold the letters of their name on the tag.
A brother and sister who deep down know they love each other, even if the daily bickerings never cease......
Crazy and silly moments that keep the family full of laughter...
A mother/daughter combo that is both sweet and sour, but we like to focus on the sweet side of things. Christmas Eve
A little dude that we sometimes refer to as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde because of his swing in moods. Excited to open a present(happy), mad because he didn't want to open jammies(grouch). Ten minutes of grouch followed by happy again. Not to mention BIG SURPRISE Jace you've gotten jammies on Christmas Eve 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 years in a row now.
Lovely Lauren was overjoyed with her cute jammies and pig slippers.
Christmas Morning
The rustling of bed sheets and the whisper of "mom" first brought me into consciousness. It was Lauren and she was ready for Christmas to start and she had brought along an accomplice to ensure Jason and I had no chance of re-entering dreamland. The clock read 7:45am, and I mumbled something about needing 15 more minutes. Jason sent them back to their rooms for a mere 5 minutes so I could ready the video camera to capture this magical day.
Just to see the joy of Christmas in your child's eyes, the excitement that you once felt experienced again through them. The wondering, the waiting, counting down the days until finally it's all revealed. Then comes the fun of new discoveries and hours of playtime until alas the toys are forgotten but the feelings of Christmas will always remain with them.
Christmas visit to share the joy with family. Sam and Abby(cousins) delight in opening presents that Lauren and Jace chose for them......
Quiet moments alone with your new Nintendo DS compliments of Santa....
Special times spent with Grandma putting together this porcelain doll, then having to wait until Christmas to get her......
Being silly with Grandma and Grandpa and remembering to thank them for all the fun and thoughtful gifts they wrapped up for you......
Fa-ra-ra-ra-ra.....Having Christmas lunch with the family at China-a-go-go and enjoying every minute of not having to cook or clean up on Christmas Day. Thanks again mom and dad for lunch......
Going to all my sisters houses after lunch to check out their spoils and soak up some of their family's Christmas spirit and ending with everyone at our house. Getting to talk to my brother Robert on his mission in Nicaragua, going to the church so Jason and Jace could fly their helicopters in the gym and ending on a high note of Villa Pizza and Dunkin' Donuts for that one of a kind- can't be topped Christmas dinner!
We hope that all of you were able to enjoy your Christmas as much as we did.We are so blessed to be able to enjoy our families and friends at this time of year Thanks for all the cards... they make December my favorite mail month!
Now if we could just do something about this mess!!
After another fabulous white elephant exchange, my mom brought out four gifts. She explained that 25 years ago there was this big crazy fascination with these funny looking dolls called Cabbage Patch Kids. She talked about how she and her sister Pam waited in line for hours and kept in contact with any news of where they might find one of these exclusive dolls. Well in honor of Aunt Pam, who passed away last December 10th, she got us four girls one of the 25th Anniversary Cabbage Patch Kids. I opened the one that had red hair just like my first one.
