Christmas 2010

I’ve always loved Christmas, but this year I saw it with new eyes—those of my two sons. The magic and the excitement of stockings, and Santa Claus, and reindeer’s hooves on the rooftop. The wonder of a child’s birth, of Wise Men traveling great distances, of LOVE coming down on that first Christmas. I found pure joy in watching my boys experience all of these things.

Our Christmas celebration began on Christmas Eve at Auntie Jane and Uncle Tom’s house. We nibbled on tasty snacks and opened presents before heading to church.  The boys were excited to open their gifts—but were completely surprised by the treasure hunt at the end that led them to the back of Grandma and Grandpa’s car and to their JEEP!

 

 

 

I think the pictures speak for themselves—this gift was a hit!

We went to a late afternoon service at church designed specifically for families with young children. The boys got to see the Christmas story come alive through song and a short play. Jack had been practicing some of the songs that I thought we might sing at the service, so he was ready to sing.

After church we went back to our house for a simple meal of clam chowder (one of the boys’ favorites). The boys were completely exhausted and it didn’t take much convincing for them to get into their new Christmas jammies and head to bed. Before retiring for the evening, Tom and I set up the video camera on a tripod aimed down the hall. We were ready to capture the boys as they ran down the hallway in the morning to see what Santa had left them. Tom even had the remote control to turn on the video camera. We were ready.

Christmas morning the boys awoke around 6:30. Jack busted out of his room and down the hall followed by a frantic Tom trying to hit the remote to turn on the video camera. Sadly, Jack was too quick and we didn’t record it, but we did manage to get a lot of other great video of the boys opening their stockings.

 

Santa brought Jack a Buzz Lightyear and Emmett a train/lego table for his room.

Emmett takes a break from opening presents to have a drink and play with his new tractor.

The boys play Hungry Hippos. And pause for long enough to let us take a picture.

But one picture was enough. They wanted to play some more.  

We took nearly an hour to open presents—much longer than I thought it would take. Not because we had so many to open, but because each present the boys opened they then wanted to play with for a while. Tom and I drank a whole pot of coffee, the family stayed in our pajamas most of the morning, and we had an absolutely perfect Christmas morning.

This was the first time we had been at our own home for Christmas morning. It was so special to wake up and have that time as a family.  I must have told Tom a dozen times that this was exactly the way I had envisioned our Christmas morning to look. It was wonderful.

At around noon, my parents,Matt and Joanna, and GG arrived. We snacked some more and opened more presents.

 

The boys were excited to open more presents.

    Jack got a Frosty the Snowman train from Matt and Joanna. Boppa and Matt helped him set it up. For the rest of the day, that little train chugged along the track blowing its whistle. Jack discovered that he could stand over the train and be a tunnel. He thought this was the coolest thing.

 

 

After presents we sat down to an unconventional Christmas dinner of salmon, risotto, and green beans.  Tom has always wanted to have seafood on Christmas day. And although I’m not sure that this is what we’ll always eat, it was delicious and fun to make. I had fun setting the table using my new Christmas dishes from Tom’s parents.

Once dinner was finished we just sat around, drank coffee, let the kids play with their toys, and talked. It was so comfortable and fun. Our new home easily accommodates guests and Tom and I had a blast hosting. It was a lovely day filled with all good things—truly a blessing.

So if we didn’t get to tell you in person,

we wish you a very Merry Christmas

and may goodness find you always in 2011.