Christmas Day

PICTURES--That first picture is the kids waiting at the top of the stairs to come down and see what they received from Santa. Next Karina with her stocking. Then a few of the girls opening presents from their secret pals-- a tradition carried on from my childhood. The kids switch names at the beginning of December and do services for each other and then pick a present for their secret pal. On Christmas, they reveal who they are. In the one of all the girls, they are opening the present from Mommy and Daddy. Every year, we buy all of our neices/nephews families a special chosen book. Then we give it to our kids too. One year it was "The Polar Express." Another year it was "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein. This year, it was "Swing." It is very similar to "Gallop" (which the girls received as a gift from my roomate, earlier this year. They loved it!!) The characters in the book move. It is really neat.

A WHITE CHRISTMAS--We had a wonderful Christmas Day! Last year, it snowed a little on Christmas but didn't stick. This year, we had a ton of snow on the ground. Either way, it is always nice to have a white Christmas of some sort.

AURORA'S 1ST--It was Aurora's 1st Christmas and it was so cute watching her work so hard to open the presents. As you can see, she was happy with the result of her hard work (and a lot of help from her sisters.)

LUCKY--Since we are both from large families, we always exchange names. This year, we happened to have Brian and Shannon's names, before we even knew they were coming to our house. It worked out nicely. :) They seemed to love our gift. Go Seahawks!!

A PRICELESS GIFT--It was Sariah's year to put the star on the advent calendar that my Mom gave us for Christmas a few years back. We had one just like it growing up. She made up a pattern off of hers and is making each of her children's families one. Talk about a priceless gift!! It practically took all year for her to finish it. We sure appreciate all the time she took sewing that for us. It has created many wonderful memories for my children that I had also, and will create many more.

REALIZATION--I have realized this year, more then any other, how much I appreciate my Mom and my Mother-in-law. The holidays are exhausting for Moms. After shopping all month, you spend the holidays getting little sleep, preparing food all day, and making sure everyone else is happy. Fun times!! (Don't get me wrong, it's worth it to see everyone's faces!! It truly brings me so much happiness!! On a different note, I wonder how many years I didn't get a present for my Mom or Dad or even told them thank you enough because I was so wrapped up in what I wanted. Luckily, I've gotten a clue since becoming an adult.) One of my problems is that I am such a perfectionist that I just want everything to be perfect for everyone. I want every present to make someone smile from ear to ear or cry (from happiness.) I want every meal to satisfy their expectations for what they dreamed for Christmas. At times, it paralyzes me or just makes me take forever to get it started or get it done. Often times, I learn that I just have to let go. One example, it is really hard for me to let people make their own food. It makes me feel really guilty, like I'm not doing my part as the hostess. On Christmas Day, I was upstairs feeding Aurora and I heard Brian ask Grant if he could make some top ramen. I felt so bad!!! I know I have to do other things, like take care of my kids, but it just made me feel so bad. Luckily, Grant helped with a lot of the meals. All this was really for my good because I just have grown to a greater appreciation for our Moms, and every little thing they always do, every single holiday or gathering. They are amazing!! We love you Moms!!!