A blur. Of blissful, blustery joy. That flew by too fast. Like the above action shot of the kids running into the room on Christmas morning. So full of excitement and energy, ready for anything but having no idea about any of it. The highlights of Christmas, for me, make for quite a long list...
- Watching the kids' faces as they cut their last Christmas link off the chain, and hearing them squeal, "No More DAYS!!!"
- Appreciating the efforts that each person made in order to join in our celebration, and missing all the folks that we love who couldn't be present.
- Seeing them open their daily Christmas package. Together and without bickering. As if they knew no other way to do it.
- Reading for at least 45 minutes each day, on the couch with a box of our Christmas books by our feet. All snuggled up together in a blanket. Reading until I had to call for a time out.
- Hearing the kids get excited about each family member as they arrived, and watching them welcome each with complete joy.
- Christmas decorations. Namely Steve and Lindy's Santa hats and Steve's reindeer headgear.
- Spreading the reindeer food on the lawn at dusk.
- Lighting luminaries.
- Forgetting to brush the kid teeth or make a snack for Santa in all the excitement of the evening.
- Realizing that I had in fact prepared too much food... this was a very happy realization, since I didn't plan on cooking again until the new year.
- His and hers Santa jammies for the kids.
- No more potty training accidents than usual.
- Listening to the standing ovations each kid got when they dashed out of the bathroom to announce they had pottied successfully.
- No tantrums or flat-out refusals. Generally good eating. And normal sleeping patterns. PHEW!
- Counting how many people it took to set up one train table.
- Putting Elf away for the final time until next Christmas. And congratulating ourselves that we only forgot to move him once this year.
- Hearing the kids break out in song, belting out "Frosty The Snowman" with complete abandon.
- Listening to Addison talk and talk for an hour as she fought off sleep on Christmas Eve.
- Seeing my old doll house reborn and regifted to my children. Knowing it was thought up by both my folks, then built and designed by my Dad's hands. Twice. With a mere 35 years in between.
- Present Mountain. Seeing it built, unwrapped and eventually neatly stacked atop my dryer so that we can rediscover all the kids' gifts one at a time over the next few weeks.
- Having breakfast and coffee with the family as we waited for Caden to wake Addison on Christmas morning.
- Taking breakfast and some books into the kids' room on Christmas morning for a special pre-present treat.
- Watching the kids race to the tree Christmas morning.
- Laughing about what presents captured the kids' attention first (hello Dollar Store toys!)
- Wishing that everyone could stay longer to enjoy the post-present festivities, and smiling when Addison sweetly but seriously said, "But WHY do you have to go?"
- Joyfully realizing that I did indeed have enough leftovers to last a good long while without cooking.
- Breaking down box after box, looking at our trash can which overflowed with wrapping, watching the children loving others and being loved in return... Thinking about the things I've listed above and realizing yet again that I am blessed times two - to the gajillionth power.
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