Thoughts on Christmas…

It’s over and done. The boxes were torn open, the toys played with, the clothes thrown over the shoulder onto the floor in anticipation of another box to open. I wanted to do a random list of thoughts that I want to remember from this Christmas:

• Christmas Eve for the past two years has become our own. We used to have family to visit with that night, but circumstances have changed, and so we now have a free evening for ourselves. I love that we can spend it at our house now and have a quiet evening that I can plan and orchestrate. Since our kids don’t get to spend Christmas Day at home, I love that now we have Christmas Eve all to ourselves, even if I don’t love the reasons why we have it. Families.
• I loved that it snowed on Christmas Eve. We had gone out to Shane’s Aunt’s house to visit in the late afternoon, and it snowed the whole time we were there. By the time we left, it was scary driving home, but it made it feel so cozy and Christmassy.
• I discovered after said adventure to Aunt’s house (at 6pm) that I wasn’t quite as prepared as I thought for the dinner I had planned or for the casserole I was supposed to take the next day to my mom’s. It all went okay, but it was frustrating to discover minutes after the stores closed that I didn’t have everything I needed. The story of my life!
• I got the BEST deals on Christmas decorations & stuff on Christmas Eve. I have wanted a set of the little trees that everyone has that are different sizes. I found a set at Joann’s that day for $6! I bought a bunch of stuff to decorate them and a few other decorations and went home and decorated my 3 new trees. They are so cute! I wanted those to put upstairs since our main tree is downstairs. I love Christmas close-outs!!
• On Christmas Eve, the menu was: hot roast beef sandwiches and brown rice for Shane and me, a waffle for Ben, and corn dogs for Thomas. Felt a little like a short-order cook, but no one went to bed hungry.
• The kids jammies were a hit, and they loved the slippers that they got this year. I love the tradition of dressing them in new jammies!
• When Ben opened his quilt, he said, “No, mom, this is yours!” I was a terrible mom and I had totally worked on it in front of him from start to finish. Kind of anticlimactic, but at least he didn’t know the whole time it was his. It looks so cute on his bed!
• We read Luke 2 all together in front of the tree. I love doing this; it brings such a sense of peace to an already peaceful night.
• We didn’t have to get up until 7 am!
• Both Thomas and Ben loved their presents. The boys (ahem, Thomas I should say, but it wasn’t just for him!) got a Playstation 2; Thomas would be happy if he could live in front of it, eating a corn dog every now and then to keep up his strength. What was I thinking??/!!!
• I made what we call “pull-apart rolls” for Christmas breakfast. They turned out, despite the fact that I mess up the recipe every year. I actually made notes on the recipe right after I made them this year so that next year I’ll get them right.
• Shane and I’s presents were quite anticlimactic. Ben helped us open them (he just wanted to open something, I think!) after we waited until after the kids had opened all of theirs and had gotten the Playstation working. We love to buy for each other though, and so it was fun to watch each other open presents.
• We got to spend time with both my mom and Shane’s mom on Christmas Day. I love visiting with everyone and eating yummy food.
• My nephew Nathan came and spent Christmas night with us. It was so much fun to have him over! Thomas loved showing him all his stuff and playing Playstation with him.
• We didn’t have much to return at all. I bought the boys the wrong size socks, so we returned those yesterday.
• My kids will be home for nearly 2 weeks because of my easy work schedule & Shane taking time off work. Plus, my mother-in-law will watch them on the day that we both have to work, so they don’t have to be at the babysitter until after New Years! Who wants to leave their toys at home after Christmas? I’m glad they get to be home.

In all, it was a great Christmas. Hope that yours was too!