I figured it was time to clean the fridge which means it’s time to take down the Christmas cards. I love keeping them up longer than any other Christmas decoration – especially since we’ve had so many visitors lately. (Is it just me or do you love perusing Christmas cards on display at others’ homes?!)
They’ve had a good run and have been admired for quite a while. It’s time to return to a clutter-free fridge. 🙂
It’s always a gamble as to what our friends and family are going to get when they open our Christmas card each year. 🙂
I like to think outside the box and deliver the unexpected. I also like to give a glimpse into our lives – this year it only made sense to have the card focus on sports and show Steve and I on the sidelines.
I know our lives won’t always be lived on the sidelines, but right now this is our season and I’m here for it!
Bennett has always been our animated child but Cannon is quickly gaining on him. Christmas morning provides the best in reactions and emotions.
We traditionally take our Christmas mornings slow. We open presents one at a time because I want to see each and every reaction. And there’s always a few gifts I’m extra excited to give for one reason or another. I love how excited they get for each other even when it’s not their gift. I love the hugs and the fist pumps and the screaming, “Let’s go!”.
I love all of it.
Sometimes we end of up having a repeating gift on Christmas morning without even intending to do so. This year was the year of the shoe. Steve’s been asking for cool “dad” shoes. Hunter only asked for one thing for Christmas and it was shoes. And Hallie also is in a shoe phase as are many high school kids these days. (Briggs also ended up with a pair, not because he wanted them but because he needed them!)
Steve was the first one to open shoes and Hunter was salivating as he turned the shoes over and around in his hands.
Steve was recounting a Christmas when he was a young teenager and he received his first pair of Jordan shoes. And now that he’s 40, he just got his second pair and he’s just as excited. He will most definitely be one cool dad.
We made sure Hunter opened his shoes as his last present. By this point, it was late in the afternoon. We had eaten breakfast. We had gone to church. We had come home and eaten lunch. And the kids thought they were done opening gifts. And then we had a scavenger hunt for each one of them to find their last gift. Hunter started beaming at the thought there might still be a pair of shoes for him after all.
He did one small tear of the paper and saw the black box, and he knew.
He was one happy 14-year-old.
Hallie opened her last gift just after Hunter had opened his shoes. And as she opened the shipping box she too knew what her gift was and she just grinned at Hunter as she slid them out of the box.
She too was one happy girl.
When my kids were younger, I could not have imagined the day they would be asking for shoes for Christmas but here we are and Nike did not disappoint this year!
There is always so much pent-up excitement on Christmas eve – its a wonder that any of the kids ever fall asleep.
The last couple years it has rained on Christmas eve and put a damper on our neighborhood luminaries. So when we saw a clear forecast earlier in the week, we were looking forward to our Christmas eve tradition once again. Almost 200 homes all display white paper bags with candles lining their sidewalk.
We lit our candles before heading over to our friends home for dinner and chimes. We’ve hosted our friends the last two years as they have been remodeling and they were happy to host once again.
I’m happy to report, the older the kids get, the better our chimes sound. There were a few years that were pretty rough! I don’t want to brag, but we sound pretty good and the kids love it.
After, we drove through the neighborhood to take in the lights and luminaries and made a stop at the Christmas light show (aka the Christmas house in the neighborhood). Definitely one of our warmer and drier Christmas eves.
We ended up back at home and the kids wanted to give their sibling gifts. They drew names and Hallie took them all to the store to purchase their gifts. I have to admit – this is one of their favorite things about Christmas and I want nothing to do with it! I spend enough time managing and purchasing all the gifts, I’m grateful they manage this on their own. And because I don’t know what they get each other, it’s a fun surprise for me as they’re opening them. So many smiles, so many hugs, so much gratitude.
It’s the perfect appetizer to Christmas morning.
Steve read a book to the kids and after they plated some cookies and carrots, they were off to try and go to bed. 😉
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
