M.E. PATERNOSTER: The one with all the presents

Sunday, February 10, 2013

The one with all the presents

Yes, it is the middle of February, and yes, I am finally posting about Christmas. The moment I get behind on this blog, is the moment I dread even more having to catch up. So prepare yourselves for a bit of catch-up! Try to contain your excitement, mmm-kay? Thanks :)

Christmas Eve was spent preparing for the night's festivities. Erik woke up bright and early and took the kids to Costco for a little last-minute shopping, but mainly just to get them out of the house so I could cook and clean. Later that afternoon our very good friends came over (the Rigtrups and the Allens). Of course all the kids could hardly contain their excitement, but they were all surprisingly calm and well-mannered (all 10 of them! It was a full, happy house that day). We ate a delicious dinner consisting of shrimp fettuccine alfredo, pesto chicken pasta, Greek tilapia, salad, and bread. For dessert the adults noshed on chocolaty goodness (I honestly can't remember exactly what it was, but pretty sure it was chocolate lol), while the kids frosted cookies for Santa. We performed the Nativity which is always a special, entertaining, and unpredictable affair. Savannah stole the show in her cow costume (a vintage leather coat that belonged to my Grandma Benson), and Troy had us roaring in laughter with his rendition of a donkey (in a fur stole which was also my Grandma Benson's). Brooklyn was of course the beautiful little angel that she (almost) always is. After the Nativity, the boys did what boys did best... wrestled! All these years I thought Troy was just a crazy boy, but low and behold, he is as normal as they come! It was kind of an eye opener for me to see such well-behaved boys from other families, acting as crazy and rambunctious as Troy does. The kids soon grew tired, and all us adults knew we had a long night ahead of us, helping Santa make his rounds. So off to bed they went! After leaving a note and cookies for Santa, and carrots for his reindeer.

Christmas morning started early this year (as opposed to last year with an 8:30 wake up call! Still pining for those days haha). The kids were up at 6, but we made them wait until 6:30. We grabbed Savannah out of her crib (she was still sleeping, bless her!), so she could join in the present un-wrapping. And what a fun time! The kids are all such fun ages, and still act thankful and happy with everything they get! Savannah had a blast opening all her gifts (and mine, and Erik's, and whoever else's she could get her little hands on).

Later that evening our very good friends, the Burkman's, came over for a Christmas ham dinner. It was nice and casual (paper plates to boot!), so I didn't have to stress that day about preparing.

Anyway, we had a fantastic Christmas and especially loved watching the kids excitement grow as we talked about the story of Jesus and His amazing gift he gave us. We are so thankful for our Savior and for his birth and Atonement. We are very blessed!