Merry Christmas

WOW! What fun we've had. Since I last blogged, we've been around the world and back. Let me re-trace a little. I was off work Friday, so Jason and I drove to Fort Worth to do our Christmas shopping. Nana and Pa-paw kept the kids, and it was a great day for just the two of us. I used to get those guilty feelings if we ever did something and left the kids, but now I just enjoy every minute of it! We shopped several stores, then trekked over to the mall. After our Academy stop we had to re-arrange the van in order to get the Air Hockey table inside. (The table is for Braden, of course.) We ended our shopping frenzy with a wonderful, romantic dinner at Ruffino's in Ft. Worth. It was complete with rose pedals on the table, candles, and a piano man! The peace and quiet of that restaurant was beautiful compared to what we had encountered the rest of that day!

Saturday was jam-packed with events as well. We had Christmas at Mimi's (my mom's). She has a sweets table that is filled with nothing fat-free. It is not even reasonable to pass by the table without grabbing something! After lunch, we opened presents in an organized fashion for the first time in the history of our family! Since it was the first time, it was not just terribly organized, but the kids all went around in a circle taking turns opening gifts. The adults had a Chinese gift exchange which was tons of fun!

We had to get back to Granbury for the Christmas Eve service for StoneWater, so we left Stephenville at about 3:45. This was held outside at Shanley Park, so Landry was dropped off (once again) at Nana's house to avoid any more ear trouble. Our job last night was to serve hot chocolate to all the people who came. Jeremy wanted enough to serve 200 people. The hot chocolate was great- homemade and everything. We also had hot apple cider, but just a small pot. We cooked the hot chocolate on Jason's fish fryer with a huge stock pot over the flame. We used 5 or 6 gallons of milk over the course of the service. Jason counted 215 people there, and the majority were new faces- WHOOP!

After we got home last night, I made another batch of pecan pralines- this one turned out great! We baked cookies for Santa and left Rudolph a red apple (Braden's choice). The food and a big glass of milk was left out for Santa before the kids went to bed. We all slept in the big bed. Once the kids got to sleep, Jason and I put the air hockey table together! Bedtime was about 1 a.m. for us!

Santa came while we were sleeping, and you can't believe the excitement in these beautiful kids! They opened presents at about 8:00. I think each toy was strapped down with a minimum of 10 twisty ties. URGH! Now, we're trying out all the new toys, playing air hockey, cooking pretend food, fighting with light sabers, pushing baby dolls in the stroller... I love this life!