Christmas

Oh boy, did we have a good Christmas this year. 

My very favorite thing about this year was a 25 days of Christ advent calendar that my mom gave us. It has a scripture that we read, usually a story, we watch the corresponding Bible video, and then read a passage about that day. 25 days leading up to Christmas took us through the birth, life, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ. There was certainly a lot of baking, presents, and overall merriment that went on, but it was so nice coming back to the scriptures each night to talk about the reason for the season.

Of course I don't have a single picture of any of it. But here's what I do have:

let's see if I get this right: "I want a Lego Star Wars Ship that something something something and shoots out the side."

Greg: I believe that model has been discontinued

Drew: Santa can do it.

And what do you know? He did!

"Roller Blades"

"XBox with Madden"

"Please don't surprise us this year with another dog. We already have one. Thanks, though"

Ethan has been saving since the beginning of the summer for a new bike. The deal was: he earns $100, we'll pay the rest. He was really close when school let out for Christmas,  so he was extra laundering, dishing, and dog poop picking like it was his job. 3 days before Santa came, he got to go on a date with Greg to pick out his new wheels. Thankfully, we had Benny to inspect. 

I didn't think it was fair for Ethan to do all this work, and Drew slide in for the leftovers, so we made him pay Ethan $10 for his bike. 

Last year, on Christmas Eve, Kate lost a tooth, which meant that the Tooth Fairy and Santa came on the same night. The whole crew thought it was the coolest thing, so when early December came and a tooth was found wiggling, Ethan held on with all his might, and December 24th rolled around and let it go. Double magic happened again. Think we can have a three-peat?

I know. Ben's not in any of these pics. I'm a jerk.

When Drew stops smiling like a weirdo, I will cry my eyeballs out. 

Oh, there he is!

Kate loves making presents for the boys. She embroidered a little car scene for Drew and made Pokemon cards for Ethan- colored, cut and laminated. They both were extremely appreciative and she was so happy. 

I really scored on a couple gifts this year. One was these bow and arrows. They're really fun- even for Greg and me!

The other was sweet MaryEllen. Kate had originally wanted to ask Santa for her, but I told her she already had an American Girl doll, and to ask for something else. When that something else turned out to be something really small and she was so sweet about accepting my answer, I couldn't resist but to bring out the big guns. By golly, she was excited. 

And once Kate saw how cool Ethan's new bike was, she laundered, washed, and dog poop picked up her way to a new bike as well.

We had a wonderful after Christmas with beautiful weather where we enjoyed each other, new toys and games, and lots of treats.

Unfortunately, the state of Texas still thinks my kids need to go to school, so I sent them back like a good citizen. But I didn't want to.