Christmas Day

Christmas Day, of course, begins with me staying up nearly 'til dawn, doing Necessary Things like filling those stretched-out stockings and putting four boxes-worth of candy canes on the tree and mopping the floor and decorating cookies and setting the table. And then taking snapshots of it all!


Candy cane covered.  Yes, please.

Every year I fool myself into believing these will not take me all night to frost.  Sucker-punched, again.

Table:


 


Healthy and Nutritious Once-a-Year-Sugar-Cereal-in-a-Tower-for-Breakfast (the eggnog's in the refrigerator):


 


John, my handsome fellow, calmed the rabid children enough so that I could sleep for an hour or two, and then we sat around and opened presents.  Thanks to the dozens (and dozens) that Grandma and Dude put under our tree, that took a good long while.

 Stockings first, though! (My favorite part...)











Wasn't that fun?  Now presents!

The following pictures are mostly for you, Mom O., since they show the children opening your gifts.

Susie (and all the girls) love their slingshots!

All of the girls asked for socks for Christmas because only Millie had some pairs without holes.  This exclaims the jubilation when they opened SOCKS! (I bought them all some, too.  Socks, o socks, o happy day!)

Annika was dying of curiosity here.   

She loves it.  Thank you!  (Piper promptly used it to shoot the noisy Hot Potato Monkey.)

All the girls loved their bonnets, Sarah.  (Zeke loves his Hulk, too, but he still tries to steal the bonnets.  I'm probably to blame.)

Of course, they all loved their seatbelt pillows.

Susie wearing most of her presents...

Zeke walks around the house, his pockets stuffed with new Playmobil figures.

And everyone (even-- especially!-- the eldest) think the train tracks are the coolest.

We hosted Christmas dinner for family who were in town visiting Mom, and when I brought butter out for the rolls, I found one of the Hulks stashed inside.

And here we are, most of us.

A Merry Christmas, now and always.