Ahhh. . . Christmas. . .
I dread it and I love it all at the same time.
Cleaning and wrapping and shopping.
And spending.
In and of themselves, none of those things are enjoyable to me.
But when it all comes together and the people that I love are thrown into the mix, it's pretty great.
I took over 800 pictures in two days so it will take me some time to sort it all out but here are the highlights:
*I finished every last bit of shopping and cleaning and wrapping and crafting by 5:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Believe it or not, that's quite an accomplishment for me. I'm usually still wrapping long after the kids have fallen asleep. . .
*We spent Christmas Eve at my parent's house in Nampa with my sister and her family as well as my Uncle Gale and Aunt Tracie. We reflected on the Christmas story through a Nativity reading and opened a few small gifts. We also played a very active white elephant game that could almost be considered aerobic. . .
*When the four of us got home around 10:00 p.m., we played our new Monopoly game which includes a fun quick-play version as well as a TROPHY. Monopoly with a trophy could definitely bring out the worst in me . . .
*The kids were asleep by 1 a.m. and I spent a very lovely hour enjoying my dark, quiet, decorated, sweet-smelling home with only the Christmas Tree to keep me company. And my laptop, of course. . .
*Gloria woke us up around 7 a.m. anxiously wanting to open the packages under the tree. I gave in around 7:15 and got up to make my coffee. Rob was a little more difficult but finally wandered in around 7:30. Zach didn't have much choice by this time since he was asleep on the living room couch so he managed to sit upright and let the packages come to him. The kids approach presents very differently. They always have. Gloria rips through hers pretty quickly, always looking for the next one even as she is opening the one in front of her. Zach takes a painstakingly long time over each and every gift. He reads through books, constructs Lego sets and reads directions. He would take all day if we let him. . .
*My parents came by the house just as we were cleaning up the wrapping paper wreckage and visited for awhile before they went to my sister's house. . .
*We made it to Rob's parent's house before 11:30 and settled in to open even more gifts! We laughed and enjoyed ourselves all afternoon and, of course, I took lots of pictures and held the sweet baby. . .
*Besides a quick trip to my sister's to deliver a couple of Christmas Day gifts, we spent the entire day with Rob's side of the family at his parent's house. No rushing, no worrying, no stress at all whatsoever. Just good conversation, a couple of fun games, a little smack talk, homemade goodies and lots of laughing. . .
*And now I'm back at home reflecting on how blessed I am. I know I'm probably among the minority of people who enjoy the family they married into as much as the family they were born into but it's true. I do. . .
So, I guess I'll be sifting and sorting and editing in order to post at least a few of the photos I took during the last two days, but right now. . . I have a trophy to win. . .
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