Taking Down the Tinsel

I simply cannot believe it has come and gone!  We had the very best Christmas this year, filled with family, fun, and lots of good food.  I can't even begin to describe to you the diet I will have to adopt after the first of the year (and since I'm not really ready to think about it, I won't attempt to go into details).

On Christmas Eve, we attended an afternoon candlelight service at a nearby church.  Afterwards, Steve's parents and brother came over to celebrate, open gifts, and - of course - eat.  I made chili, and we had a variety of sweet and salty finger foods.  When TBS began the 24 hours of "A Christmas Story" at 7:00, we tuned in and enjoyed.   

Sara was thrilled to finally open the presents she'd been eye-balling under the tree for weeks.  In fact, by Thursday, the temptation had simply become too much and while Steve and I weren't paying attention, she planted herself by the tree and started opening.  We stopped her before she got in too far, but it was a good thing Christmas Eve came when it did ... she just couldn't wait any longer.  Sara opened her gifts, tossing aside the clothes in favor of the toys, and then helped the rest of us open ours. 

Taking a short break with Papa ...

Sara did a good job of passing out some presents to Uncle Mark.  I can always rely on Mark to buy me wine for Christmas, and he came through again this year.

 

 Helping Ma-Mas open her gifts ...

Steve was so excited to receive Batman cologne and golf-ball-finding glasses.  Christmas isn't Christmas in Steve's family without the purchase of at least a couple of gifts that are meant for no other purpose than to bring laughter and teasing.  I can assure you that there was plenty of both.

  I was especially excited to be able to surprise Steve with an iPad.  I had debated it for a while, but made a last minute decision to just buy the device in order help launch my loving husband into twenty-eleven in style.

 It was fun to wake up at home on Christmas morning.  Sara knew that Santa would be coming, and had left him milk and cookies the night before.  When she woke up, she wandered into the living room.  And what to her wondering eyes did appear?

 A Thomas tent!  Joy!

 Later in the afternoon on Christmas Day, my parents flew into town for a short visit.  Sara received an easel from them, which has become her own personal little work space.  She's been busy working on the names and colors of all the letter magnets.

 During the visit from Grandma and Grandpa Todd, Sara got to sit on the kitchen stools for the first time.  She'd never been interested before, but felt very special when she was up high next to Grandma.

 Over the course of their visit, we enjoyed some shopping, long walks, tasty food, good conversation, and, of course, cigars.  These were big-dog cigars, and I think every house on the street may have had the pleasure of enjoying them, too.

 Sara received "Toy Story 3" from Ma-Mas and Papa, and enjoyed watching it on the couch with Grandpa Todd.  Shortly after starting to watch it on this particular day, Sara went down for a nap.  Instead of turning it off, my parents, Steve, and I sat and watched the entire movie ... it was really good!  I had heard people say so, but had to see for myself.  Even if you don't have kids, it'd be worth a couple hours of your time to watch TS3.  It's a crowd-pleaser. 

 I was able to snap one picture (with my new Nikon from Steve!) of Sara, Grandma, and Grandpa Todd before they left.

It was really special to be able to spend Christmas with both of our families this year.  The rest of our pictures from the month of December (many you've seen on previous posts) can be found at my Picasa site. Melissa and Adam couldn't make it because they were in Steamboat visiting Adam's mom.  We missed them, of course, but were also a little jealous to hear about their skiing and snow-shoeing adventures.  I hope to see them in February, as Sara and I are tentatively planning to head to MN for a weekend family event.

Now we're looking forward to a quiet New Year's Eve celebration at home, just the three of us.  We're going to do some grilling, pop a bottle of Korbel, watch bowl football, and simply enjoy each other as we reflect on 2010 and ring in 2011.  Happy New Year!