Christmas Day

 I had hoped to put a post up while it was still Christmas Day, but that didn't happen. We've been partying right up to the end!

I told you yesterday I was still finishing up some last minute wrapping and other preparations. We finally dropped into bed about 3:30, but that didn't stop the kids from knocking on the door at 6:30. Yes, they were all up except for Baby Doll (who sleeps in our room), and they wanted to see what Santa had brought for them.

Five minutes later we were headed down the stairs. The little ones were so excited! We emptied our stockings first. They were a bit different this year, filled with oranges and granola bars and tiny packages of cookies. Then the kids really dug in. The grownup kids were thrilled with their Tupperware cookware I've been acquiring a piece at a time all year. The Dog Walker was totally overwhelmed with his karaoke machine that he has been wanting for ages. Princess got an electric toothbrush (the good kind) and an Ipod dock for her Ipod. Prima Donna got a basic Kindle reader and some renaissance clothing she wore all day. Crafty, Scout, and Baby Doll got knock-off American Dolls and tons of cute clothes for them. Curly and Sport got Lego City sets and Sport scored a slot-car race set while Curly got several wooden puzzles.

I gave my sweetie a navy blue pea coat with a gift box in the pocket. I had re-sized his wedding ring that he hasn't worn in about 20 years. It was tricky trying to figure out his size, but we managed and it fits just fine.

We opened gifts for about 30 minutes before Curly fell asleep on the floor. That gave me the perfect excuse to slip back to bed for a while. We reconvened at 11:30 and opened everything else. The kids were so cute and so excited to present their treasures to their siblings. The Dog Walker turned shoe boxes into awesome works of art and then carefully presented gifts he had bought with his own money to his brothers and sisters. Princess made adorable felt people we can use for FHE. It took her many hours to design the pattern and then cut them all out, glue on hair and clothe them. Scout had help from her dad to spray paint and glitter pinecones that looked like baby Christmas trees for her sisters. And you saw the amazing basketball games Sport made for everyone! Prima Donna had earned Target gift cards from Reflections and she used them to buy gifts for her siblings. Teach gave everyone books and the Gym Rat scored major points with his Lego Sets for the boys and CTR rings for the girls.

But the Drama Queen's gifts were way over the top. Now that she has a real job, she decided she wanted to spoil all of us a little. She bought corsets for her sisters and me. She bought samurai outfits for Curly and Sport and half a dozen tutus for Scout and Baby Doll. The silliest were the gifts for the Dog Walker and Gym Rat. She gave them Viking helmets with attached (and braided) yarn beards!

Bossy's family showed up around 4:00 and we opened gifts with them and then played cards for a while. My sweetie made us an amazing dinner and after cleanup we played a little more. Bossy's family left about 11:30 and then Princess and Prima Donna and I sang carols until the day was officially gone.

I love Christmas! I love being together and loving each other. I know some people think we are probably a little over-the-top because we like to give gifts to our neighbors and friends, teachers and coworkers, but it is so important to let people know that we love and care about them. And that we appreciate them and the way they touch our lives.

I wish there were some way I could give a gift to all of you, my loyal readers. You keep me writing every day because I don't think I would be motivated otherwise. Thank you so much for sticking with me! I hope your holiday season was as full of joy and love as ours was. Merry Christmas!