Christmas!

Happy girls with their American Girl Dolls from Santa. They opened these first right after their stockings at 6:30 am!

Doug babysat Kit while Caroline used two hands to open presents. She didn't want to give Kit up!

A cheap "barbie" mermaid who's arm fell off shortly after opening. Luckily I got it back on, and the mermaid tail is just an outfit that can fit any REAL Barbie. Not worth the $3.00 I paid at BigLots for it, but she's happy...

Before we finished opening presents, we had to take a break to play with a bead kit,

and open the "color by number" horse poster.

Scenes from this morning, the day after Christmas, playing with their own and each other's new toys in their new pj's:

My emotions, as much as I try to hide them, are only kept in check with thin skin. You don't have to scratch very hard to see tears - both happy and sad. I've made a list of things that have made me tear up in the last few days. They are, in no special order:

1. 
   
   
   Nikki's cherub choir singing at mass when they sang "Silent Night" - the Monsignor led them in sign language while their quiet voices sang so angelically, and they were concentrating so hard on him. Talk about living in the moment and not wanting it to end...
   
   


2. 
   
   Receiving a package from Portillo's on Christmas Eve from Peg and Joel. We're having Italian beef sandwiches tomorrow night! A taste from home...
   


3. 
   
   Passing the sign at the firehouse that said "Drop off site for coats $ canned food" and hearing Caroline's voice from the back seat saying, "Mom, let's go home and get my bank so I can give my money to the firemen for the poor people" Unfortunately they weren't taking money, they just didn't have a "&" to use and were being clever. Caroline saw the "$" and took it literally. (yes, she's starting to read!)


4. 
   
   As I struggled to keep my own emotions in check at church, I watched a woman I vaguely know in front of me crying silently through much of the mass. She was next to another family I recognized and the daughter from the other family (about 9 years old) was rubbing the woman's back, trying to bring her comfort. I don't know the cause of the tears, but there's only a few things that could make someone cry in public on Christmas day...


5. 
   
   
   Seeing the offertory basket of money dropping to the floor as our family passed it to the next family in church. Doug, Caroline, and Steve (who was supposed to take the basket) scrambling to pick everything up under the pews in our row. Entirely inappropriate to laugh, but when emotions are high, the extremes spring forth. Sorry Mom...
   


6. 
   
   On Christmas day, after dinner, seeing the face of our 2-year-old neighbor after she licked the chocolate off the cracker. She kept coming up to people saying, "more chocolate?"
   


7. 
   
   Hearing the sound of water running in our downstairs bathroom after the pipes to the sink and tub were frozen for almost two days. Thank God they didn't break again this time...
   


8. 
   
   Visiting my sister's blog and reading her tribute to my father for the 100th time. I'm crying now just thinking about it...
   


9. 
   
   Hearing Caroline say "Mom, Santa doesn't need to come tonight. We already have presents" as she surveyed the 8 gifts under the tree (half from the kids to us) on Christmas Eve.
   


10. 
    
    Reading to the girls the note that was enclosed with the new Cubs and WhiteSox shirts they received from Grandma and Grandpa. Cubs shirts were sent because Grandpa is holding out hope that my girls will become Cub fans, and White Sox shirts were sent in honor of my father's love for the team.
    

In spite of everything hard about this year, it was a nice Christmas. We celebrated with friends who have become our New Jersey family. We attended a nice open house party on Christmas Eve, and had two other families that are also transplants to New Jersey over for Christmas Day dinner - neighbors John and Sherry with their girls; and some new friends who always sit behind us at church who hail from Ohio - Steve and Becky and their two kids.

We're very tired today. I made the girls go down for a nap, and they didn't complain. They're still sleeping now, and it's been almost an hour. They've had a great time this morning playing with all their new toys and craft kits and watching movies. They each took to bed with them their new American Girl Doll, and their new Webkinz animal. They are still in their pj's, but after nap, Nikki's going to have to make a decision on which new shirt to wear - Cubs or White Sox. Life is good.

My angels slumbering peacefully as I write this...

Christmas morning movies: