It's the most wonderful time...

Except this year, it kinda wasn't. I don't know, for some reason I was in a HUGE funk. It took me forever to put all the decorations up, and the only reason I finally did was because Mike had taken it upon himself to do so, and, well, we all know that ain't happenin'. ;)

We did decorate the tree a bit earlier than normal, which was nice, because as soon as Mike gets into finals, all bets are off. The kids had a blast breaking playing with all the ornaments.





I was called into the Nursery late last year, and boy did I love those kids! Of course it was nothing like I imagined it - they've only had one HORRID day out of many - it's been such a great experience. The other teacher brought in clothes for all the kids to dress up in and act out the Nativity scene. It. Was. Hilarious.



We had a friends' gift exchange for the wee chirrens. For me? Notsofun. Hudson had pink eye, so I had to leave him at home and then Maddy acted like a bit of a nightmare. See, we got a Cinderella and Prince Charming doll set thing to give away to one of the girls, and Maddy was hung up on that the whole time. I didn't anticipate this at all, though I suppose I should have. Ah well, live and learn.




After she had some treats, Maddy was fine. Sheesh.

Christmas Eve

First off, it was pretty exciting because my brother (and his wife!) and my mom got to be here for Christmas. My mom stayed with us, poor thing, on our totally uncomfortable couch, and Travis and his wife stayed in a hotel, so really, it worked out perfectly. They joined us at Mike's parents' for Christmas Eve and it was great! We had tons of On the Border take-out, plus Mike made guacamole. Jenny had also covered all the sweets covered, so we were all happy as we could be. Dinner was great, then my father-in-law read the story of Jesus being born, and then we all opened some gifts. The kids were spoiled to the billionth degree. Ridiculous! But seeing their happy faces made it all worth it.






They're a little nutty





When we got home, Mike and I prepped the house for Santa to arrive, complete with some milk and cookies and the letters from the kids. I also left out some paper for him so he wouldn't have to go rummaging around, looking for some scraps to write on. (Santa leaves a note for the kids when he comes to our house.)

Christmas Day





Christmas morning, Hudson woke up waaaay to early for my tastes, but I was able to get him back to sleep, snuggling next to me. Maddy woke up when Travis & Jenya got to our house and walked right out to say hi. I had planned to video her entrance into the living room so I could capture her shock when she saw all the presents, so I think the fact that I asked her to go back to her room for just a minute kinda set the tone for what happened next.

She didn't seem upset about it or anything, and finally after waiting awhile for Hudson to wake up, I got him up, got the video camera ready, and told Maddy it was time to come out. And she wouldn't. She said she was scared. Who says that? I tried, Mike tried, Travis and Jenya tried. Nothing. Finally Travis brought her out on his shoulders, and she had her hands over her eyes, and would NOT uncover them. I'm telling you, that girl will be the death of me! FINALLY, after much cajoling, she took her hands from over her eyes and looked at her first present - new PJs. Santa brought both the kids new PJs and Maddy got a Pinkalicious doll, and Pinkalicious' pet unicorn, Goldilicious. Hudson got a mini 4-wheeler thing.




This kid is a mess. I think Santa should have brought the new {matching} PJs earlier.

My mom spoiled everyone, Mike spoiled me, Travis and Jenya got us two games we've really been wanting, plus some slick threads for the kids. And I know that presents shouldn't equal happiness, but it seems everyone really went out of their way to think about the gifts and do nice things for each other.




Hudson sure took a liking to his Auntie Jenya! At any point during their visit, you could find him in her arms. Sweet love.

Because of Maddy's Drama Delay, and the kids inability to wake up early on the one morning they're entitled to, we got a super late start on the opening of gifts. Then Mike made breakfast for everyone, and after that, it was 1130 AM. I looked at Mike, and we knew we would never make it out the door for church. I was pretty bummed. Of course we *could have* trudged over there, and I'm sure we would have been blessed for it, but Hudson actually napped quite well and long-ish, and when he woke up, we all got ready to go to Spence & Heather's.

Spence's mom and step-dad were there, and Grampa, and my niece Kaitlyn (who Maddy calls Kate-Lan), Travis & Jenya, my mom, and Spence & Heather's neighbors. Such a fun little group. :) Instead of the big Christmas dinner they've done in years past, that they absolutely KILL themselves over, and then don't get to have too much fun because they're so busy cooking and whatever, they decided to have a bunch, er, a TON, of hors d' oeuvres and snacks to munch on all day. It worked out really well for a few reasons, mainly because our 'little' group was too big to fit at their dining room table. Plus this took the pressure off me to have my crazy kids behave at a nice dinner. Phew! :) Don't worry though, there was plenty of food, including sausage balls, Texas Caviar, smoked chicken legs, queso, and so much more.



After eating our hearts out, we opened presents. (I know! AGAIN??) It was a good time. We got some really nice things, and the kids... well, if they're brats, DON'T BLAME ME. Ha! I do everything I can to say no and be mean mommy, and their aunts and uncles and grandparents just don't feel the same way. :)

We put Hudson down for bed and played some games. And ate some more. And relaxed. It was the best. But then we had to pack everything up and come home. So although December didn't start out well, Christmas was very good. We're so blessed to have the family we do, and we're lucky most of them were able to come down for a Texas Christmas!!!