This Christmas was so much fun I can't fit it all into one post. So, I'll start with Christmas Eve. The day dawned with excitement and business as we prepared for the celebrations to begin. I made iced sugar cookies, like I do every year, while the boys slept then played. Dalton got off of work early..yeah, and was home by lunch.
I let Cooper open a gift from the Echols that morning and it kept him occupied for most of the morning, except that I had to keep telling him not to take it outside. He wanted so badly to take his new skid steer to the dirt pit, but I don't want these to be outside toys.
After naps, we rushed to get ready, stopping long enough for a visit from Jan and Michelle to drop off a Merry Christmas wish and a couple of gifts for the boys. Cooper got a John Deere camera that he clicked all evening long. Then we finished getting ready and headed in for church. Dalt was playing during the service so we dropped him off to practice and went to an, oh so busy, United. "What are all these people doing here?" I thought as we rushed through the ailses looking for those few things that I needed for the holiday. So funny how strange it seemed for everyone else to be at the grocery store on the Eve, but not for myself.
Back at church I found a row midway up and parked myself and the kids next to another family with kids. Because Dalton was on stage I knew I needed reinforcements to make it through the service alone….especially with Cooper, who was dying to get on stage with his dad. I won't say that I got a lot out of the service, but we survived and even managed to sing the songs. Of course I had to sing while giving Cooper looks and telling him to stand up, get down, stay in the row, don't leave the pew, etc. At one point he snuck out of the pew during prayer, but thankfully someone grabbed him and returned him to me before he made it to the mic.
At one point Cooper and the other kids were sitting next to the mom of the family I sat next to and she handed out skittles to keep them quiet. It wasn't long before one hit the floor and started bouncing away (skittle…not kid). Then a few seconds later we heard another ping. I couldn't help but laugh because it's so funny to be in these situations with kids. If I wouldn't have laughed I would have probably been embarrassed and upset, but what's the use in that. Overall it was an enjoyable service…I can't say the same for those sitting behind me though. I hope they looked on us with grace.
Once we finished saying our Merry Christmas's there we headed to Mere Mere and Popsey's for a quick visit and dinner. We had yummy enchiladas, which Cooper helped serve. Then it was off to the house to open our gifts. We tried to keep Cooper awake on the way home but it didn't work. We had to revive him a bit once we got in the house but it didn't take long for him to get into the gifts.
I opened mine first…I think Dalton was more excited about me opening my gift than I was, and for good reason. It was camera!! A really nice camera…woo hoo. I was excited and so thankful. What made me even more thankful was knowing that he used his bonus money to buy the camera for me instead of getting his gun scope or boots that he wanted. What a guy.
Cooper was excited about opening. He ripped into the paper and wouldn't open the boxes until every last shred of wrapping paper was off the box, no matter how tiny. Then he opened the boxes, looked and smiled and was on to the next one. It didn't matter to him whether they were his presents or not, he was ready to open them all.
Ace, on the other hand, didn't really like all of the comotion…he was a little tired for all of the excitement. He did like chewing on the paper though and it was a constant battle to keep it away from him.
Finally the last gift was opened…Dalton got a tent! We are going to be a camping family now, or so he says. I made sure to get a big one so there's plenty of room for us all to roll around and get comfy. I have to admit I'm pretty excited about it too.
Once we'd put the paper away we talked about why Christmas was important and put Baby Jesus in the stable. Cooper played with them a little, and at one point he was holding Mary looking at Jesus saying "It's going to be ok." Sweet.
Then we set out cookies for Santa and headed to bed. That night, Santa came…..and I must say Santa had a good time setting out the presents and filling stockings, oh what fun.
"And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:7-8
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