Christmas Day

Christmas morning is something I look forward to all year of course! The kids let us sleep in WAY later than we thought they would. They slept until 8:00 a.m. Mark and I kept waking up just to make sure they hadn't come down without us noticing! They were so excited. Santa brought Braxton a BIG bike. He was excited and a little intimidated. But he's getting the hang of it. Haylee and McKynlee got bikes too...and all of the princess barbies. They were in heaven. We can't get Haylee off of her bike! Maycee wanted roller blades and she went to put them on and there was in ipod in the toe. Holy crap Santa must like our kids. He spoiled them and they loved it!! This year I put numbers of the presents so they wouldn't snoop (A little trick I picked up from my mom :) But, they were so excited to finally see who had which number and what presents were for them. Maycee and Braxton were both so excited about some presents they made for us. They were so thoughtful and sweet. We love our kids!! It was a great morning but then the work had to begin. Mark and I spent the whole day running around trying to clean-up and pack so we could go visit family the next day!!

Christmas Eve

I love this time of year. It has kind of become a tradition that Mark's parents come for Christmas Eve and spend the night. We have a feast like you couldn't believe. Just when you think the crab legs can't get any bigger THEY DO!! We love spending that night with them. Our kids were so excited. It was a really special Christmas Eve. Maycee wanted to read about Jesus Birth and the little ones did better than we expected. When it got time to go to bed the kids were so worried about being asleep when Santa came that they forgot to set out the cookies and milk. I didn't realize it until they were all asleep. So, luckily Mom saved the day and I was able to set out the cookies and milk before Santa came! Whew that was a close one.

That Time of Year!

So it was that time of year again to go visit Santa Claus. Our kids were so excited! We got to the mall and we were walking toward Santa when Braxton said, "I knew it...he's an impostor!" I asked him what he said, and he repeated it word for word!! I couldn't believe it! How did he even know what that meant? I asked him how he knew that he was an impostor. He said that he wasn't the Santa Claus that woke him up a few years ago and he knew that was the real one! So that makes the "Mall Santa" and impostor. Needless to say we laughed the rest of the time. I told him that he better go sit on his lap just in case he was the real one. He humored everyone, but he still knew it wasn't the real Santa :) Haylee and McKynlee were so cute they asked for a princess thing, Braxton wanted Halo Wars Mega Blocks, and Maycee wanted Roller Blades!! They have been on cloud nine...and I have been throwing out the "Santa is watching you" about 30 times a day! Oh, I love this time of year!!

Well, the time finally came when they got to see the real Santa and not one of his helpers. We heard he was coming to our friend Jim's house and that he was going to bring them a present and everything. Our kids were so excited!! We got there and when he walked through the door there was no doubt that he was the real deal! First of all, our sneaky little Maycee came running into the room and said, "O.K., so I just saw Santa get out of a red car!!" We went to check it out and indeed he did! It was a red PT Cruiser and the license plate said THE SLED!! He said it saves time to park his sled and then drive his car around town. Of Course...Santa is so smart! Then he sat down and told the kids that he was going to do something different and that he was going to answer any questions that they had for him. Our kids were the oldest ones there and so they went nuts of course. How many hours does it take you to deliver all the presents? How do you stay awake all that time? How do reindeers fly? Does Rudolph always fly on Christmas? Why does his nose glow? Do you stop at every house? What is your favorite cookie? I liked that answer the best, he said, "Look at me, do I look like a picky eater. You don't even have to leave cookies, I'll eat left over pizza...I'll eat whatever you've got!!" Maycee even found out that he was a Packers Fan!! She loved Santa before but after that news she loves him even more. McKynlee asked who was inside that Santa and he told Maycee to come over and push on his belly. He said lots of kids think he stuffs pillows and padding in his suit. But it was all him as Maycee found out. She pushed her fist into his belly and his belly shot back out "like a bowl full of jelly". Our kids were absolutely mesmerized!! That experience is definately burned into the memory banks. What a special night it was for all of us!! See Braxton it was worth the wait, you humored the impostor and you got the real deal!!!