Christmas Chaos

I can't believe the holidays are almost behind us! So much preparation and excitement...then it's over in the blink of an eye. I think we had the best Christmas yet this year. So much to be thankful for and so many people to share it with! The holiday kicked off with Sami's school party and "Winter Program". Her class sang "The 12 Days of Christmas"...she practiced so hard to get it just perfect. The next day was her Christmas Ballet/Tap Recital. She did AMAZING! As much as I hate to admit it, I love watching her - she just glows when she's dancing! After the performance we went to Red Robin with some good friends and family, finishing off the night with a hug from Santa. The next week was the daycare party (aka Granny's house). Every year the kids draw names and exchange gifts. This year my mom decided to have the children buy gifts for Toys for Tots and a police officer came to the house to collect all of the toys. My mom had done a wonderful job preparing the kids by talking to them about the real meaning of Christmas and importance of giving. The officer that came was wonderful and the kids were so excited to load up her car (I'm sure it helped they got to see inside and hear the sirens!). It was a wonderful way to instill the message and let the children feel the gift of giving. Christmas Eve we spent the afternoon at Grandpa and Grandma Reeder's house with all of the cousins - 6 to be exact all under the age of 7 1/2! The kids had a blast and exchanged gifts. They drew names this year and were so excited to see what each had gotten. We went from there to Papa and Granny's house with yet another cousin. We ate more than we should have and were showered with wonderful gifts. Papa lucked out and got a Wii which all of us have been enjoying. Christmas Day was all at our house. The kids started waking around 6, too excited to see if Santa had finally come. Matthew got a Thomas the Train tricycle and his own Dyson vacuum from Santa. Sami was so excited when she saw all of the bedding to turn her room into a High School Musical room! The kids were so cute opening their presents and being silly! I baked an egg casserole after that and soon we had a house full for brunch. That afternoon we had even more join the festivities and we had a wonderful "linner" (Thanks Lisa for the recipe - it was a hit!). It was such a relaxing Christmas. Usually I am rushing to get the meal ready and make sure the kids are occupied. This year I got most of it prepared the night before and once it was in the oven, I was sitting on the couch enjoying a glass of wine with the rest of 'em! We are so blessed to have each other, our health and our Lord this day and every day. Most of the time I am too rushed and stressed to look around and take it all in. Our holiday continued on Friday. We went over to Grandma Linda's house for an Italian Feast - we were all sick of the typical holiday foods by this point! The kids had drawn names here also and had a great time opening gifts. Aunt Jana had a great idea - all of the kids made homemade cards for the person whose name they drew. The kids loved making them and were so proud of themselves when they gave them away. It was a great idea! Aunt Shelley brought goodies to make ice cream sandwiches and we spent some great quality time with all of them! It was a long, very busy holiday - but a wonderful time each and every moment!! Merry Christmas Everyone and thank you to each person that helped to make ours so wonderful!

(I'm still sorting through all of the Christmas pictures...those will be up in a couple of days!)