Christmas Day

I have scant pictures of Christmas, which is fine, since the few I do have are blurry. We spent a slow and happy morning together. Opening stockings took a while, and then the girls played with their trinkets and enjoyed sifting through candy until I grew restless and suggested we move on to the presents under the tree (yes, I had to suggest it). We opened presents one at a time, one person at a time, and exclaimed over the gifts we all received. Nearly all the gifts under the tree were from grandparents, and, if you know these grandparents, you can understand why it took us a while to get through them all.

It was such a peaceful morning, full of slow and measured actions split by bursts of uncontrollable joy. I love our children. They make living so much clearer.


Millie gauges the most effective way to reach her stocking.


Stockings upended. Susannah's is the only worthy expression.







All the gifts from our other Owens were wonderful, but I only have pictures of three. An elephant-riding doll who endlessly amuses Annika.




A dvd set that makes John happy because it includes Gene Autry starring in a science fiction western. Can cinema get any better than that?




And an amazing kitchen set, luxurious and sturdy, to replace the one that was handed down to us a year and a half ago.



We left around lunchtime to go to my brother Andy's house, where all the Johnson children and their children and the grandparents of those children gathered for a full day of visiting and feasting in a large and newly livable addition they've toiled over for several years. I took no pictures, which is a sign that I was too busy enjoying myself to bother.