Christmas '08

We had a wonderful, magical Christmas this year! We started out a few days early at Nana's and Pop's house where the weather was frightfully cold..perfect! The smell of the woodstove burning and turkey cooking filled the air along with the children playing and men snoring! Good times! We opened gifts on Saturday evening and enjoyed a nice time at church the next morning. My mom sang a beautiful medly of Christmas songs and Grace sang with her, softly in the pew..priceless. We headed back home Monday morning to rest up for Ryan's ear appointment that was scheduled for the next day.

The appointment went as expected and his ear surgery is scheduled for Jan. 2nd. He'll have tubes put in and his adnoids checked. Hopefully he'll be a much happier little boy after that. Please say an extra little prayer for him that all will go smoothly.

Wednesday, Grace and I spent all day cooking and doing some last minute shopping. I served a "miniture Christmas Eve Supper" for just us. Right before we gathered around the table to eat, Ryan had a little fall in the kitchen and put a nice little scratch on his cheek, which required some major crying and a bandaid. He is constantly on the go and quite the little menice! After supper we got the kiddos ready for bed and read the Christmas story from the Bible. We then let them open one small gift from under the tree. Grace got the Cinderella barbie doll from Ryan, and Ryan opened one of the many "shake-n-go" cars that he LOVES! Then it was off to put food out for Santa's reindeer. Grace had made a special mixture of oatmeal and corn from school (which amazingly disappeared by morning!). Soon it was time to finish icing the cookies for Santa and place them by the fireplace just incase he was hungry from all that flying around! The "babies" were in bed by 7:00 and as soon as they were fast asleep the fun really began!

The next morning came early with screams from Grace that "Santa had come!" This was the first year that she had actually understood what was going on. Ryan, on the other hand, was happy with me holding him and drinking his morning cup of milk. He could have really cared less! After all the unwrapping and a quick breakfast, it was off to Nanny and Pawpaw's. We spent the afternoon with them eating yummy food and opening more gifts. Ryan went dressed as "John Deer" himself and loved showing off his little fourwheeler! He is such a little rascal!

This has been a wonderful Christmas that I know I'll always cherish. We have been blessed beyond our wildest dreams. Here is a slideshow of our Christmas tour! (click on "view all images")

A few dreams come true:

This has been an amazing year for Rick and I. Here are a few dreams I thought would never come true:

*I'd see two stockings hung from our chimney with care with names of our children stitched in white thread.

*We'd pretend there's a Santa and sneak 'round the house, hiding long wanted toys that piled up in mounds.

*I'd snuggle up tight on the couch with my son and my daughter, watching Charlie Brown's Christmas until the wee hours.

*I'd watch my own children sit on Santa's knee, making big promises of how good they would be.

*We'd make Christmas cookies and warm, gooey fudge, setting them carefully by the tree for our own special "Santa" to see.

*I'd dress my own little girl in ribbons and bows, and see my own son reach for lights all a glow.

*Sharing with my children the birth of our Saviour, now that's a dream come true that I always will savor.

Christmas time is a special time for everyone, but for this new family, it means so much more than you can imagine.

The perfect Christmas Card

I spent what seemed like hours the other night trying to get the perfect shot for our Christmas card this year. I think I took about 30 different pictures before I decided that I really couldn't sacrifice anymore nutcrackers or already wrapped presents. I quickly got the kids to bed and settled down at the computer to hopefully find several pictures to choose from. I loaded up the shots and started sifting through them. Of course, there were the ones that had Grace perfectly smiling and Ryan screaming, or Ryan grinning like a canary and Grace showing her "fake-celebrity smile", and the one's where one or the other's head is cut off. We finally got to about the 3rd one from the end and decided our little darlings looked perfectly wonderful no matter which one we chose! We hope everyone enjoys their card! Here is a few of the pictures we chose from: