Merry CHRISTmas!

A rainy Christmas morning came early this year. Madeline woke up at 7 and checked out the goodies Santa had brought. She ran upstairs and startled me awake. Who likes being woke up like that? I held her off another thirty minutes while I tried to get a few more winks and allowed my heart rate to return to a normal rhythm. That was all she could take so we made our way down the stairs to see what other treasures awaited us under the tree.

Santa was good and brought her a Le*gos set and the complete St*rW*rs saga computer game. He gave Kenan H*tWh**ls cars and a race track.

Mommy got the car monogram sticker she asked for.

Daddy got the Car*lina vs. N*treD*me print he wanted. (FYI, he and two of his friends went to that game and are in the picture, very tiny, but they're there. Oh, and our Hee*ls won which was a nice and unexpected surprise.)

The kiddos got the next book in the series written by Big*Mama. It's part of a Sunday morning children's program at church. They have online stuff too. Check it out.

BUT, the BIGGEST surprise of them all was a W*ii!!! Thanks dad, it wouldn't have been possible without you! I think she's just a little happy, don't you?

The rest of the day was spent playing with all of our new toys. It took 2 hours and 20 minutes plus a few hundred pieces...

...but she put the whole thing together by herself. This is Ana*kin's Y*Wing Fighter. Girlfriend loves Le*gos.

Kenan ran over everything with his new remote control car.

And everyone got in on the W*ii action.

Including the K-Man. Believe it or not, he's actually good at bowling or as he calls it, blowing.

For dinner that night I made Car*raba's Lentil*&*Sausage Soup. If you've ever had it, this recipe tastes exactly the same. I may have to share it with you sometime...maybe...

We ended our day by singing Happy Birthday to Jesus and blowing out candles on a rice*krispie treat cake. I didn't want the day to pass without remembering the One whom we celebrate, who makes this day possible in the first place. Thank you Jesus for coming to a rotten world so that I might live with you forever.

I also want to remember the friends, known and uknown, who helped make our Christmas all that it was. We had food on the table and gifts under the tree thanks to some kind and generous individuals. For that, we will be forever grateful. It was a very Merry CHRISTmas!