Christmas 2008

This morning, I woke up before anyone else. I got dressed, said my prayers, and enjoyed a few minutes of peace and quiet. I got a glass of water, and checked the weather report. The clock struck 7AM, and still, nobody stirred. I waited...listening...

And then, I hear Joshua jump out of bed, and run to his sisters' room, crying,

"Wake up, wake, up, Santa's been here...hurry!"

Poor Christina must have been dead asleep...because she started to cry. I hurried upstairs, and she told me Joshua had scared her. I picked her up, and I said,

"It's okay, Joshua's just excited because it's Christmas. Don't you want go see what Santa brought you and open your presents?"

Boy...you never saw tears dry up so fast in your life.

The kids dug into their stockings, and they were thrilled with the candy, new tooth brushes, headbands and hair bows (for the girls), books, and gloves. Now...I can't really understand why David bought them gloves, they would hardly wear them. But at least they were only $2 a pair.

Joshua was thrilled with the Battleship game from Santa, Rebecca got a window decal painting kit, Christina squealed over her Polly Pocket set, and Gabriel was awestruck with a toy replica of a car dashboard, complete with a steering wheel, and all kinds of buttons to push. He must have played with it non-stop for over 1/2 an hour before we could even persuade him to try something else.

It only took about 20 minutes for the kids to open the rest of their presents. Gabriel briefly looked at a few new books, and went right back to his car toy. No amount of cajoling would pull him away from it...so I ended up opening his presents. Later on, he played a couple of wooden puzzles that had locks on them, as well as an animal hospital with multiple doors and keys (did I mention he LOVES doors and keys?). My goodness, he was one busy baby boy!

Here are a few pics from our crazy morning!

I was glad the kids liked all their presents. Joshua got an electrical snap kit...I don't think he stopped working with it all day except to go to the bathroom or to eat. Rebecca loved her weaving kit and origami set; we spent the day making a potholder and learning how to fold paper squares into animals. Christina set up her Polly Pocket dolls with their boat and pretended they were swimming. Gabriel played driver and veterinarian, and snuck candy out of his stocking until I realized he had chocolate all over his face :-).

David was happy with the shirts, tie, bar set, and Brad Pitre CD set I got him. He's easy...if he makes a list. Sometimes I have to pull teeth to get it...this year he relinquished his list just before Thanksgiving (and that's early for him).

I was excited to try out my new santoku knives, and velour warm up suit (Katie...are you reading this?). And I have a new coat...I hadn't gotten a new one in maybe 8 years. Awesome. Oh, and a tiny tabletop tripod for my camera...does this mean I'm getting serious about taking pictures, especially for my cooking blog? I think I'm going to ask for photography classes for Mother's Day next year.

David got around to making breakfast around 9AM. He manned the stove and waffle maker with ease while I had the kids tidy up a bit and change clothes.

We sat down to scrambled eggs, Belgian waffles, and sausage links. Gabriel was famished--he ate a whole waffle, 2 sausages, and some fruit. I guess Christmas morning made him hungry...even though he didn't open a thing!

I didn't make lunch, but I made some Jesus in a Blankies for the kids mid afternoon, shrimp cocktail and cold veggie pizza (for the grownups), and there was plenty of cookies, cake, and chocolate popcorn.

Man...I am beat...Every year, I try to keep it as simple as possible, and somehow, I'm still exhausted by the end of the day. I think I was happier to see the kids go to bed tonight than last night! Is that bad?

Still, it was a wonderful day...truly wonderful. I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, and let out a long sigh. Joshua must have heard me, because he said,

"You know Mom, Christmas is a lot of work for you and Daddy, but it sure is fun for the kids."

I said, "Yes Joshua, it is, but I'm glad you all had fun today."

Josh said, "Yeah Mom, this is the best Christmas EVER!"

How did he know that's all I needed to hear?