Christmas Day 2010

Christmas day was a lot of fun! Each year my children beg me to let us have a crazy hooligan, freaky-frenzied, wrapping paper flying, arms flailing, gone in a flash, present opening free-for-all-- as opposed to taking turns opening the gifts. Much to my children's dismay, once again, the answer to that request was a resounding "NO!"  Call me a mean Mom, but I forced us to stick with tradition, and open each gift one at a time.  And, despite the required turn-taking, they all seemed very happy with their gifts.  I enjoyed watching their reaction to each and every one.



Do we look exhausted? We were so excited for Santa, that we hardly slept a wink.



We had our traditional chocolate chip cinnamon rolls for breakfast.



Creed opening the very first present.



Karen got some lovely princess fingernails from my sister, Michelle. They were a real hit until her turn to open another gift came around, then nails were flying left and right, making unwrapping nearly impossible.



Kyle got a spy watch with a snake cam that records around the corner. He was spying on the people around the corner in the kitchen. So far I haven't seen the snake cam slide under the bathroom door, but I would imagine it is only a matter of time.



All of the girls got a tiara from Grandma and Grandpa.



Creed got a stuffed doggie from my his Great Grandma and Grandpa.

Cameron, Michelle, and Kailani.



This was the note Santa wrote to the children on his goody plate. It said, "Thank you for such a wonderful treat. It was fantastic! I had to hurry to get it before Comet. He loves treats. Merry Christmas to all of you. You have been so good this year. Love Santa   PS-Sorry Comet sneezed on your plate." (notice the green reindeer boogie-- gross!)

 

Karen wearing a snow princess dress that Santa brought to her cousin, Little Z.



My handsome Dad, wearing his new BYU hat.



At about 9:00, after an exhaustingly perfect day, I went to put Creed to sleep. It wasn't until then that I stopped to really realize this was his first Christmas. And even more importantly-- it was his last, "first" Christmas. I felt that familiar panic that comes when I stop to notice how fast time is flying by. I scooped him up, and rocked him to sleep. As I rocked, I thought about how it is sadly ironic that I spend a good portion of my baby's first year walking around in a sleep-deprived haze-- too tired to appreciate how precious each moment is. If I wasn't so tired, I might have spent more of the season noticing how quickly my sweet little boy is growing.  I would have also spent more time thinking about the tiny Christ Child born so long ago. I would have wondered if Mary had the same feelings, holding Him, that I have when I cuddle my perfect little boy. I would have thought about if it was hard for her to share Him with others the way that it is hard for me to be apart from Creed. As I sat there, rocking my boy as his first Christmas came to a close, my heart overflowed with gratitude for the gift of my son, and-- more importantly-- for the gift of Heavenly Father's Son, Jesus Christ.  



I adore this picture, because Creed was looking at me with those love-filled eyes.