Our Family Christmas 2008

We returned home late Saturday evening, and everyone knew upon going to bed that "Christmas" would happen first thing Sunday morning. So, after the boys were tucked snugly in their beds, Santa and I began to set up the big toys and put presents under the tree!

Erik and I got up before the boys ~ which means we got up when it was still dark. I lit up the tree. . .

and the stairs. . .


I wanted them to wake up to a warm home full of little happies and awake parents waiting on them. Because normally, they wake us up! But, not this day! Not long after we got the house ready, we heard the pitter patter of little footsteps on the stairs. . .


Joshua's main present was a knight castle, and JCT's main present was this robotic remote controlled dinosaur!


They loved both things so much!!


And, Lijah had fun opening his happies, too!

My present for Erik was a little surprise! When Erik Daniel was 2 weeks old, we took him to get his newborn pictures taken by a local photographer. When the photographer was trying to get this shot. . .


they captured a moment on camera that they didn't mean to catch. It was one of those moments that happens quickly, and it was simply by accident that they got a picture of it! But, after the moment happened, Erik asked them if they happened to capture it on film. They flipped back through their digital camera and proudly assured Erik that they had in fact captured the moment! Erik was thrilled and said he wanted that picture for his office.

Well, that was back in September, and he had completely forgotten about the picture. But, I had not! And, here it is. . .


Note the stream flowing from Erik Daniel's mid-section! Boys! They never do grow up!

Anyway, the boys played all day mostly with their new castle and knights!



Erik loves to give. It is his gift. He is the giver of the two of us. Some years he calls me Scrooge because I don't like to spend money. And, please don't misunderstand him. He is not the type to buy our kids tons of toys, etc, or to get into the whole marketing thing. No, he just loves people, and this is one way that he loves to love on the people he cares for most. I am talking about friends mostly. I'll do a whole post one day about Sean and Erik and their gifts for one another. They are thoughtful beyond words. Erik met his match in Sean. His gifts to Erik are always thoughtful and from his heart. I love to watch them exchange presents. It is one of my favorite parts of Christmas. More about that another day. . .

Anyway, after almost ten years of marriage, I am beginning to catch on to his passion for giving. A little bit, anyway. . . But, this year we were given two very thoughtful Christmas gifts. The kind that are not just generically purchased, but rather deeply thought about and chosen with love! Both of these presents we used on our "Christmas," and they made the day that much more special!

But, before we used them, we made homemade pizzas. This is our usual weekend dinner! Yum!


Then, we used the first of our thoughtful presents. . .

The Cuisinart Ice Cream maker that Jen bought me!!! She knows how much I love to make homemade ice cream, and this contraption is awesome. She watched me make it while she was visiting this summer and decided then that this would be the perfect Christmas gift for me! And, boy, was it!!! No ice or salt needed, and the ice cream is ready in less than 30 minutes!! Lots of ice cream will be made at my house!! Here is Joshua's bowl. . .


After we ate our yummy dessert, we took the boys up for bath time. But, they had to play for a few more minutes!!!



And, I think I caught a glimpse of what David looked like in King Saul's armor. . .


Cute little soldier. . .


After baths we put Lijah to bed, and the big boys, Daddy, and I headed downstairs to use our other fun gift! Alan and Karen our good friends from Ocala, FL, gave us a Cuisinart Popcorn Popper, individual popcorn bowls for each member of our family, and a gift certificate to buy a movie at Blockbuster! And, all of this they did because Karen reads my blog, and she read a post I wrote about our family movie nights!! So sweet and thoughtful!!!

The boys loved watching the popcorn pop!



And, our cute little bowls. . .

We ate our popcorn and watched Extreme Makeover Home Edition. The boys love that show especially when they destroy the old home at the beginning!!

It was a great day! All around!

And, now what am I doing today?

You guessed it ~ mountains of laundry!!!!

Back to life, back to reality. . . :-)