Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a nice, relaxed evening at home this year. Usually we go to the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at our church. I was afraid of a relapse spoiling Christmas morning so as a precaution we stayed home. I missed our tradition but enjoyed our time at home. Every season in our lives is different, isn't it?

It is our tradition that the children receive their special ornaments on Christmas Eve. They were excited to receive them & see what Mama had been working on all afternoon! Here is Bugsy with his.


Elvis

Boo Bear

Hanging them on the tree.

Sweet Pea
Princess wouldn't pose with hers. Lol.
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We had our special Christmas Eve dinner. This year it was pizza! We haven't had it in quite awhile & the kids were very pleased.

Next on the list of traditions was the exchanging of presents between the children. Every year they either buy (with their own $), make or choose something of their own to give to each other. It is heartwarming to see their generosity to each other. They are eager to give & see the reactions of their siblings.
Elvis received these from Boo Bear.
She proudly gave Daddy a 2-Liter of his favorite. Mountain Dew!

Sweet Pea handed out presents too. This year she did lots of babysitting & pet sitting. I was touched by how much she spent on her siblings, Dave & I.

Boo Bear gave Princess one of her favorite kitty Beanie Babies, Amber. Princess adores it!

From Sweet Pea

From Sweet Pea
She gave her a Hannah Montana DVD too!

Also from Sweet Pea

From Boo Bear
He took both shirts & his glasses with him to bed he was so enamored with them!
LOL!

She was fascinated with Boo's ornament.
She kept taking it off the tree & trying to put it back again & again.

Then it was Elvis' turn to hand out presents. He didn't have any $ so he gave Boo & Bugsy toys of his own that were some of his favorites. He knew they loved them & wanted to give them something special. I almost cried it was so sweet.



He gave Sweet Pea a coupon promising "One Day of No Screaming". This is HUGE for him. Most of the time they are like oil & water together. I asked him if he wanted to promise an hour or a day & he chose the entire day. Wow!


Cutie Pie










The night wouldn't be complete without reading the story of our Savior's birth.
Princess added some giggles to this years reading. =0)

Bopping brother on the head.

Where's Princess?

Listening at last =0)
We talked about the real meaning of Christmas & then Daddy read "The Legend of the Candy Cane". One of our favorites!

The kids actually ASKED to go to bed. I think it was about 7:30p.m. Bugsy must have been tuckered out b/c in no time he was sound asleep with Molly cuddled by his side.

The kids started a tradition of their own about 5 years ago. They all spend the night together in one of their bedrooms. They take turns every year "hosting". This year it was Boo's turn to host. They giggle for awhile & then in the morning they stay in that bedroom until we come & get them. No peeking allowed! Lol!


Settling in for a long winter's nap.

Sweet Pea helped us out getting Princess to sleep & then joined the others in Boo's room.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Determined to Get It Back!

Some of our excitement for Christmas was lost when the monster illnesses took over our home & our lives for 2 weeks. The kids soon recovered theirs but I was struggling. I was feeling depressed, discouraged & even a little cheated. It was hard to shake off. I was determined to get it back. On the 23rd I was still feeling a little weak but set out on a mission for fun!

Looking at the beautiful tree helped to raise my spirits.

The stockings had been hung but we needed a little more...........

Dave & the boys hung some pretty garland up. They added more to the entertainment center & to the stair rail as well. So beautiful!

We were dying for some fresh air. The 4 of us went for a short walk in the brisk winter air.

Sweet Pea & Sedona



Thanks to my friend Jen, that night we saw a fantastic light show! A house in town had a free light show synchronized to music. All we had to do was drive up, wait in line about 10-15 minutes and then had an amazing show! It was hard to watch it all as there were hundreds of lights dancing to the music!

Once we arrived home it wasn't long before Bugs was fast asleep.

After a display of grumpiness Elvis soon succumbed to sleep as well.

Mr. Donut, (as Bugs calls her), wanted to play!

Sassy girl!


Feeling sleepy

Licking Dave's feet! What a crazy dog!

She makes me laugh. When Dave is walking around the house she will growl at him & stay clear. But when he sat down on the floor suddenly she was all over him! Her favorite was giving him a thorough ear washing! ROTFL!

How he slept through it all I don't know. Lol!

Snuggled up on the couch.
There were some ups & downs but overall it was a success! The joy was back!