Christmas 2009

Spiced tea. Christmas china. Terrible weather. Chex mix. Twinkling lights. Christmas CDs. Hulie and Bubs. Coco and PopPop. Sick kids. More presents than you can imagine. Christmas dinner with all the trimmings. Staying up late putting toys together. Stockings times three. Breakfast casserole. Phone calls to Mel. Children's church at noon. Chaos. Joy.

That about sums up Christmas 2009. The days leading up to the holiday were hectic as I tried to finish the shopping and the wrapping, tie up loose ends at work, get ahead on some cooking, and prepare the house for our guests (Coco and PopPop) who would be arriving on the 23rd. (So, this at least somewhat explains the lack of blogging.) Then, on the night of the 22nd, Julia spiked a fever to go along with the cold she'd had for three weeks. We went to the doctor on the 23rd (which has become a tradition--we were there last year on the same day!) and found out she had another ear infection. This time, we started with the strong stuff in terms of antibiotics, and she was feeling better pretty quickly. Will starting coughing on the 23rd, and by Christmas Eve, he too had a raging fever. We found out on the 26th that he had croup, and he's really still not 100%.

All of this to say, things were a little calmer, just due to the kids not feeling great. On Christmas Eve, we let Will stay up to have dinner with the grown-ups, but he was very cranky and not behaving well. At one point, Zach told him that if he couldn't behave, he would have to go to bed. Will immediately put down his fork and said, "Yes, Daddy. That's what I want to do. I want to go to bed." And off he went...with no talk of Santa, or getting up early, or leaving out cookies or reindeer food. So, he was quite pitiful that night, but it made things a bit easier and a bit calmer. And, everyone slept until almost 7:00 on Christmas morning! Luckily, thanks to Motrin and cough medicine, Will was feeling reasonably well on the big day and was very excited about the whole event. I loved hearing him exclaim as he came down the stairs, "Santa got me a guitar because he knew I wanted one!"

So, what were the big hits this year? From Santa, Will got the guitar, a "big bucket of dinosaurs," and some soccer goals for the yard. Julia got a pink tricycle, a cradle for her babies, and a little telephone. Will proclaimed the dinosaurs to be his favorite gift (although, if you ask him another time, I'm sure the answer would be different), and Julia seemed to love it all! Will also got a kids' laptop computer--not a real one, just one that plays games, an "exercise" bike that is hilarious--it hooks to the TV and he can play games while he pedals, several games like Hungry Hippos and Candyland, some books, some flashlights, binoculars, art supplies, and clothes. Julia got a new baby, several stuffed animals--including a giant stuffed dog, clothes, books, and balls. And, they got a puppet set to share!

Despite the illnesses, despite the craziness, it was a fun Christmas. We are so very blessed. I'll post some pictures as soon as I can find my camera under the mountains of new toys.