Our Family Pictures: Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

We hope each of you had a wonderful Christmas.

What a memorable Christmas we have had. After not getting much sleep (Katelyn came into our room at about 2:00 and Justin woke me up at 4:00 to help him) I couldn't go back to sleep so after waiting around I decided to wake them up at about 6:15. Justin had to take a shower to get his eyes open (he has pink eye so bad in both eyes that they were crusted shut - YUCK) so Katelyn got up about 6:20 and headed downstairs about 10 mins later. She wasn't too excited at first and she was being pokey - brushed her hair & teeth, ect. However, once she stared walking down the stairs and saw the tree it all changed! She kicked off the slippers and ran to the tree to pick up the poodle she saw. Then she dashed over to the royal princess chair and sat in that while holding her doggie and looking at her new vanity/doll house! She sat there for a good 10 mins just looking around talking a hundred miles a minute about everything. It was the cutest thing ever. She SLOWLY opened presents - very methodical in her ways. She would open a present and play with it for a minute than go back to another one then take a break and play with things. It literally took her until 10:45 to get finished opening everything. Justin of course finished hours earlier and had already started hooking up his computer and setting it up the way he wanted before Katelyn ever finished. By the time Katelyn was finished our house looked like a wrapping paper and box bomb had gone off! There was stuff everywhere - and probably about 90% of it had already been played with.

It was very satisfying to see the happiness and joy that Katelyn had. It reminded me that the littlest things make kids happy and the pure joy of Christmas is alive in children everywhere.

Our Christmas Breakfast turned into a Christmas Brunch by the time we were able to start! We didn't go to overboard this year because Justin didn't have much of an appetite and Katelyn was only going to eat sausage and pancakes. We still manage to have more than enough and tons of left over’s! The rest of the day kind of consisted of just relaxing, playing with our stuff and being close to each other. No more stress about sending gifts, or are they going to like it... instead it was time to relax and enjoy the day. For dinner we had ham, potatoes, green beans and rolls. We opted for a small pre-cooked ham rather than a big ham that would probably get thrown away. It was nice to sit down together and eat and talk about Christmas, friends, family, and the stuff we got.

Again thank you all for your cards, gifts and calls. Your love, friendship, and support mean so very much to us and are the greatest gifts that you give us!

Christmas Presents