First time in my life there was not snow in MN for Christmas. I believe that was my children's only disappointment. Well, maybe also the fact that they have to wait to play Lego's until their father wakes up.
We spent a lovely afternoon with cousins on Christmas eve. Lasagna and cheese manicotti were on the menu. Not really the traditional Christmas meal, but delicious all the same. In the past we have attended mass on Christmas day. Never have we been to mass with my kids on Christmas eve. It was a nice change I was thrilled we could make.
The mass was beautiful. Fr. R invited the kids to the altar for a story. Baby Orchid was such a good baby during mass. She is the sweetest little thing. We returned home to enjoy appetizers and open some presents. Six was a little out of control with the gifts. Or perhaps we have too many rules, I am not sure. He jumped the gun and opened some ahead of everyone else. We received many wonderful things and all were very happy.
My children had argued over how to honor Jesus on Christmas. Seven wanted to sing happy birthday with the cha cha cha's like they do at school. Four wanted to say a prayer. Six said he would just smile, as instructed by Fr. B. Six wore his pj top and swim trucks while we opened gifts. He was concerned about sweaty legs and the only shorts he could find were trunks.
Christmas day too was wonderful. We opened Santa's gifts and headed to Greenbush to see Great Grandma M. She told me I looked great. Made my day! She doesn't always know who we are when we have visited in the past. I think she knew this time, at least to start with. She commented on how great it was to see all of us. Baby Orchid made her smile so much! She held Baby Orchid and seemed to be very happy.
Orchid and Uncle T headed to see his family.
We spent the rest of the day enjoying time together. Boys built Lego's all afternoon. We had to talk them into taking breaks for meals. G & G took them to drive and look at lights last night. Coach Pete always has his lawn completely decorated. You can walk through his yard and rumor has it they had 30 lumiaries set up. Two out of three fell asleep on the ride home. Seven informed G & G "my mom and dad don't let them fall asleep." He knows. Four was up too late after her cat nap.
Today we are going ice fishing on the river! I hope to hear from some friends. Tomorrow we need to make arrangements with friends too. Wednesday or Thursday we may head out of town to the movies. I really want to make my coupons for New Years day work. I have a significant discount on shoes, but only good on NYD. We decided to stay two more days! I will get to see some friends who we were going to miss. Still thrilled to be here and want to cherish every day, making great memories.
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