A Christmas recap....
It's 2 days after Christmas. By now, I usually find myself READY to put away the tree and pack away the decorations. To restore a sense of order to the house. Ready to breathe a sigh of relief that all of the festivities and preparation are over. But this year is different. I'm actually dreading taking down the tree. It was magical here this year and I'm not ready to pack that away just yet.
Ever since the arrival of Tic-Tac, the kids were soooo ready for Santa to come. They've talked about Christmas everyday, with the anticipation building from one day to the next. By Christmas Eve, everyone was so excited they hardly slept on the 2 and a half hour drive home from Grandma's house, even though it was past their bedtime by a couple of hours. On our way home, we saw a bright white streak across the sky led by a flashing red light, and Chloe was convinced it was Santa and his sleigh. Their sense of wonder and true belief have made this year unforgettable to me. And I know that these years will be the ones I look back on with the most fondness in the years to come.
We started our Christmas break by heading to Jared's family's house the day before Christmas Eve. We exchanged presents with them that night and the kids opened SO MANY presents it was hard to keep track of everything. Christmas could have been over right then and they would have been satisfied for sure. On Christmas Eve, we went out to Grandpa's farm to play in the snow and ride 4 wheelers which was such a great way to spend a white Christmas together. The kids had opened snow boots from Jared's sister the night before, so it was the perfect time to try them out!
On Christmas Eve night, we went to Jared's grandpa's house with all of his family for their annual Christmas party. After staying for a couple of hours, we loaded up and headed home to get the kids to bed so Santa could come. My parents were waiting for us at our house and got to spend Christmas Day with us. It was great to share that time with them. The kids were really excited about thier presents from Santa; he brought three things for each of them (if it's good enough for Jesus, should be good enough for them too, right ) :). So Cole got a Wii Lego Star Wars game, a huge Return of the Jedi Star Wars battle pack, and a Bumblebee Transformer. The girls got a wooden dollhouse to share, and then they each got a new doll for the dollhouse and some makeup and makeup bags. It was so fun to watch them open it all.
Like I said, now that Christmas is over, I'm having a hard time letting go of the magic of the last few days. As we were putting all the new toys away today, I was overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude. For our family. And our extended family. For all of our blessings. But most of all, for Jesus. That 2,000 years ago, God sent him as the perfect gift. A gift to which our earthly blessings don't even compare. And that is truly magical.
