* It's Christmas!! *

This Christmas was a little different than any other. We had a great time gearing up for it as usual and the kids enjoyed their annual visit to the Bass Pro Shop to see Santa. (As strange as it sounds they really do have the best set up around :) We wrote their letters to Santa, took the pictures, and had a lot of fun, but everything was just different... I couldn't really put my finger on it exactly and I don't think it was due to my lack of sleep ;) ... I wasn't as concerned with all the presents and the hustle and bustle. I wanted the babies to have a great Christmas, and knew they would, but I really just wanted to sit and take in all that I had. This Christmas was really more of an inventory time for me. I realized how blessed and taken care of we really are. My Christmas present was sleeping soundly in my arms and nothing else in the world mattered at that moment. I wanted those that I love to know how much they were loved and that was enough...

Needless to say my nostalgia had to be interrupted to take part in the excitement of the day! It seemed as though Santa had taken a back seat this year and frankly, I was actually relieved. We made an awesome birthday cake for Jesus, sang happy birthday, and thanked Him, as we do every day, for healing Eli's brain. You could tell even the little ones were a bit humbled by this and Matt and I simply took in as much of that moment as we possibly could.

My parents came bearing gifts on Christmas day (as usual :) and the kids finished opening presents... Play Time Began! My brother and his girlfriend also joined us and didn't seem too overwhelmed with the heaps of wrapping paper and craziness. After a short rest we headed to the Mundok's for Christmas Round 2! There are 6 grandchildren now and you can only imagine the scene of all that excitement :) I was glad to get home and get the kids settled and tucked into bed after a rather crazy day... To top off such a wonderful Christmas, Snow began to fall on our ride home and it was just enough to again be reminded of the wonder of beauty of all He has created...

I do have to mention that Eli thoroughly enjoyed this Christmas season. He was enthralled with his first visit with Santa and even got to be Baby Jesus in our Church's Christmas play, though only the tip top of his head was actually visible :). Here are some pictures of his adventure this Holiday Season.