Christmas

 

It all goes so fast....too fast!  We work and prepare and sneak around making things special...all for this very special day filled with love and surprises and magic.  And, in the end, we can't wait to do it again next year.  That's exactly how I'm feeling as I sit here with the house mostly put back together and the majority of the toys and gifts tucked away in their new homes.  It's all so special and magical and I feel wrapped it up in love when I look back the photos from these days.  

I love nothing more than having our entire family surrounding us and making things special for the girls and this year we got just that.

The gift of the year was the go kart.  But for me, it was seeing everyone laughing and having fun.  We made our traditional Christmas breakfast full of all of Ellyn's recipes.  We added grinch mimoas for the kids - they were a hit!  

While the kids loved the go kart the best, I think one of my favorite parts of the day was the games I'd set up for us this year.  I'd been saving up ideas for a few months and collecting prizes and game supplies for weeks.  It took hours to put together, but seeing everyone enjoy them and making memories of us all laughing and competing made it all worth it.

We used one of the games to kick off a geocache hunt in our back yard that led to the keys for the big Christmas present...and, to add to the fun, Jamie and Zach got a matcher for Stella and Lucy.  They need some work, and some love, and some modifications to make them easier for the kids to drive (especially for Hazel) but it was the hit we'd hoped for!  Ryan is maybe even more excited than the kids though.  LOL! A gift for the whole family.

I always feel a little sad when it's all over and packed up until next year, but ahead is a time of rest, relaxation and hibernation.  We have another few days of holiday festivities ahead with New Years at the lake and then New Years Day with the Peso family.  January and February promise to be busy and filled with fun but for today, I rest.  Sitting in this strange in between time, between Christmas and New Years...between endings and beginnings.