Snippets of Christmas

After discovering the thrill of each stocking...which, by the way, A had the best discovery in his stocking. He was given Flan, a pudding type dessert he ate on his mission in Mexico. Although it was not made in Mexico nor by a real Mexican woman, it was still worth trying and good for a laugh as he almost gagged. Anyway, Daddy and the kids waited at the top of the stairs until I was ready to video the big reveal. Next year we'll take pictures instead. E quickly found what Santa had left her and was content with just that. She loved her cowgirl hat and pretend food for her kitchen. As the kids played with Santa's gifts, we made breakfast.

E was completely thrilled over her "piano". Ever since she could walk she has made her way over to any piano in order to play it. She has always played the keys gently and likes to flip the pages of the hymnal or sheet music. Now that she has her own piano, she can make music anytime.

One of Daddy's favorite presents was a bike trailer for the kids.

W and O got fabulous quilts from Grandma. Each stitched with love!

E was excited to receive a homemade ribbon twirler, just like in the Olympics. She was moving so fast this seems to be the best picture. Thanks Aunt Melissa.

E also got another homemade gift from Pa and Grandma. It was exceptional. Pa made her a real true blue wooden ironing board with 3 adjustable heights. And Grandma gave her a wooden iron to go with it. How awesome. What's really funny about it is that she had no idea what it was. She has never seen me use an ironing board and she mostly sees me use an iron when I'm sewing. So that's the first thing she said when she saw it...Yeah, I'm gonna sew! Thanks Grandma and Pa. She loves it!


The boys also got a VTech Move and Crawl Ball. It lights up, plays music and animals sounds, says numbers...surprisingly, it's not that annoying. But what's fun is that it rolls around all by itself. Now the boys really have something fun to go after!


As for me, I was given several lovely gifts...beautiful fall decor for the house, several yards of fabulous fabric, a couple books from my favorite children's author, Tomie dePaola, the fantastic DVD movie Jane Eyre, which I've seen 3 times now, and a great big box of Turtles...YUM. I was also given a surprise gift from A and my mother-n-law.

Isn't it great? It's a dress form to help me make clothes for myself. I have never asked for one, but I've secretly wanted one for years. I have even watched tutorials on how to duct tape myself to create my own form and then fill it up with poly-fil. Odd little visual, I know. But look at this! Thanks to A and his mom, I'll be one happy seamstress.

We're very grateful for the gifts that were given to us this holiday. Thank you to everyone!