Christmas Morning

Our original plan included hopping in the car, zipping to the airport, dashing through the snow to collect my dad from a plane, over the river and through the city to Maga's house we were then supposed to go . . . but they all got sick. My mom, my nephews, my neice . . . no thanks! That is not the kind of Christmas gifts we were wanting to receive :) So, much to everyone's *insert sigh here* we postponed until New Year's (and are looking forward to it!)

Thus, Buck's Christmas wish came true--we got to stay home and enjoy the day low-key style, as a family. After the kids took in the amazing number of blessings sent from family across the country, we began emptying our Christmas stocking and discovering all the surprises inside. We opened several gifts, but then the kids were getting a little more grabby than thankful, so we took a break and ate. Breakfast was simple, Costco cinnamon rolls and juice.

Everyone enjoyed the new things they'd opened earlier for awhile, then the girls helped the boys through a scavenger hunt they put together way back in November. Each clue led to a puzzle piece, which once collected and assembled, led to a treasure trove of little gifts they'd purchased while shopping with their dad (suckers, little plastic dinos, packets of gum, very sweet, thoughtful items). With that game complete, they returned for some more gift opening. So many exciting things to unwrap--Buck's family really sends the love at Christmas, so awesome for our kids!

Buck also came up with a sweet, thoughtful gift for me . . . he bought me a piece of Ireland! Somewhere in Co. Roscommon, I am a landowner, just a tiny little patch, but he knows how I left a little bit of my heart there each time I've visited. He said that he hopes we will be able to go see my Irish green bit of grass on or before our 15th anniversary. I can hardly wait! And can I get a huge, "Awwwwww!" for my husband! :)

Lunch--was of course Christmas blina! I cannot believe how much Caelan was able to eat--twice what I did easily! I forgot to mention in the earlier post about her, that at her well-child check, she'd grown three inches and gained 11 pounds in the last year . . . which is awesome, because it bumps her out of the barely 25% percentile for weight into a healthier category in the middle (yay gluten!!) She's also very excited that she's now less than a foot shorter than me (and gaining every day!)

That's pretty much how the day went, building Legos, modeling (and then washing) new Christmas clothes, reading new books, listening to CDS, watching a couple of new DVDS (VeggieTales, they're still cool at our house :) For supper we put in a ham from the hog that we bought, oh my goodness! This was one amazingly tasty pig . . . we are enjoying every bite of that unexpected freezer filler. Fantastic!

Well, that's about it . . . more pictures follow, thank you for whatever part you played in praying for our family, blessing us with gifts, or contributing to special Christmas traditions (like our Advent calendar, Nancy :) Merry Christmas!