{The Magic of Christmas}

As I've gotten older the magic of Christmas has begun to fade a bit over time.  I think it was when I moved out of my parents house, and I no longer had that anticipation of waking up early on Christmas morning and tearing into my packages, that things changed for me.  When we were growing up I would count how many pretty, wrapped presents had my name on them and compare that to the number that had my sister's name scribbled on the tag "From: Santa" (my mom still writes "From: Santa" on the gift tags to this day!).  We would always wake up to the sweet smell of my mom's homemade cinnamon rolls baking in the oven.  And, we would patiently and slowly open one present at a time, taking turns, even though all I wanted to do was tear the pretty paper and handcrafted bows apart so I could see what was inside each box.  Even when I was in college, this was still the case for me!  I loved Christmas morning.

I guess it was in the past 6 or 7 years that the excitement of Christmas sort of lost it's luster.  I think part of that is just growing up.  Things change.  Christmas became more about dividing our time between family obligations and inevitably, someone always ended up disappointed.  We had spread ourselves so thin that family get-togethers just weren't enjoyable anymore.  Last year, we had 4 Christmas' in one day!  ONE DAY!  That's just too much, in my opinion - especially for the little ones! (Does no one understand that my kids need to nap?) 

And that brings me to my girls.  Thank goodness for Miss O and Baby B.  This was the first Christmas that O was excited about opening her presents and understood what to do.  She could rip her packages open with no help and immediately wanted the boxes open and toys ready to play with.  It was so much fun to see the magic of Christmas through my daughter's eyes!  We spent a lot of time reading books, like "The Night Before Christmas", and "This is the Stable".  She started to comprehend the concept of Santa, and was even okay with sitting on his lap this year!  She got a Little People Nativity for her birthday, and would hold the baby Jesus and just kiss and hug on him.  It made my heart melt.  We talked about Christmas being baby Jesus' birthday, and that made her very excited!  What 3 year old doesn't love a birthday?!  I tried to explain that on Jesus' birthday we give gifts to the people in our lives that we love very much.  She helped me pick out a few Christmas presents for others and was very good about not wanting to open the boxes and play with the toys herself.  Elf on the Shelf also became a tradition in our home this year.  O and Daddy named her elf "Buddy".  She always knew where Buddy was hiding, and since potty training has been a HUGE deal in our house lately, she would make sure Buddy was watching her every time she sat on the potty so he could tell Santa what a great job she was doing!
B was just as content to watch her sister open her presents, as long as there was a stray bow or piece of wrapping paper she could play with.  It was very cute to watch her put every toy immediately in her mouth.  I could say that I can't wait until she's old enough to enjoy Christmas like her sister, but I'm going to be so very content and thankful that she's as little as she is!  I still had fun buying gifts for her and making a big deal out of  everything for her, as well.      

We began the festivities this year at my in-law's.  We woke up Christmas Eve morning and enjoyed some family time, opening our gifts for one another.  This was the first time we had done it this way, and it was lovely.

Later that day we got to visit with my mother-in-law's family!  We don't get to see them all that often and it was great to spend the afternoon eating, chatting, and opening more gifts.  Granny & Papa (the girls' great-grandparents) were fresh off their road trip home from Florida and were very excited about seeing Miss O and Baby B.  Granny even got in some snuggles!

That evening we packed up and headed to my mom & dad's across town.  It has been a wonderful tradition to do Christmas Eve with my family, and I'm glad we still got to enjoy it that way this year.  Santa came to visit Miss O and Baby B and we had a great time opening packages!

When everyone woke up Christmas morning, my mom started baking her yummy cinnamon rolls, and B got a bath.  Then we opened more presents!

After naps, we headed to yet another family gathering - this time with the T's.  It's always a good time at Grandma & Grandpa T's house!  A few of my favorite people were missing this year (for a good reason - they were busy bringing a beautiful baby girl into the world on December 27th!), so for me, it felt a little off, but we still always love hanging out with this side of the family. 

This is everything we had crammed into our car for the 4 hour trip home.  If you can believe it, we still weren't able to fit it all in, and there are things we'll have to bring back with us the next time we're there.  

All in all, this Christmas was pretty magical.  We are so fortunate to have all the "things" we have, and we are so blessed to be surrounded by such loving friends and family.  I hope the magic of Christmas didn't escape you this year, and you were able to enjoy every special moment.