Back from the abyss...kind of

Back to work today. YUCK. But only for 2 days and then I will have 2 more days off. YIPPEE! I really enjoyed having so much time off last week. Gave me a chance to recharge my batteries so to speak.

Daniel had a blast on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Every noise he heard was Santa on the roof. It was fun to get to experience the joy of Christmas through a child's eyes this year. I think so much of that is lost as we get older and get caught up in the materialisticness (is that a word? If not it is now!) of Christmas. We attended a Christmas Eve service with our friends. It was a very nice service with a candle light ending. Reminded me a lot of the service at my old church at home. One of the men in the church sang Mary Did You Know which is one of my all time favorite Christmas songs. It always brings tears to my eyes.

Surprisingly Daniel was not up at the crack of dawn on Christmas, but he did come racing into our room once he got up. We opened all of our gifts and let him play while we made breakfast.

It was a very nice holiday overall. It was nice to stay here and not have to run around from house to house either, but we did miss our families. Jeff's mom, brother and my sister in law Em, all came up and visited on Saturday. We had a blast playing cranium together. Even if my teammate did quit on me. (Daniel) He even got a question right before he quit! The question was the definition of hirsute and he said hairy which was the correct answer and not what I would have guessed. Smart kid! LOL.

I may be a little scarce again this week but after the first of the year I will be back full speed ahead I promise. I have even got a few posts already planned.

In the meantime here are a few pics to keep you amused.

Showing off the pj's and robe that Santa's Elves left to be opened on Christmas Eve.

The elusive Mommysaurus. Always behind the camera, never in front of it.

Throwing out the reindeer food to help the reindeer find our house and to make sure they had a snack when they got here.

Luna helped put the presents under the tree on Christmas Eve.

But she could not wait until Christmas morning to open the gifts.

Opening his stocking.

And the presents.

The aftermath.

The joy of going downstairs and finding out Santa had left one more present.

Fighting with his lightsabers.

Playing with the stickers he got in his stocking. That is where they are supposed to go right?

The stress of the holidays wore them out. They had to watch a movie together on the couch.

I hope everyone has a safe and Happy New Year!

Easy Christmas Stocking

Found a link to make an easy Christmas Stocking! I even know how to do the stitch already! (Thanks Lisa) I am going to give these a shot this weekend since we do not have our old stockings.

I am so proud! I have to brag!

Over the past few weeks we have been talking to Daniel about how we were going to have him pick out a toy to donate so that another little boy could have something for Christmas. We explained to him that while we may not have a lot to spend, we have a lot more than some people do, especially this year. There have been several conversations about how if something happened and we couldn't provide a Christmas how he would feel. We have also tried to explain to him how it is important to share what you have with others, no matter how insignificant you think it is. I know he is only 3 and does not understand exactly what we are talking about, but I hope that by beginning early, he will grow up to be a compassionate and caring adult.

I took him this afternoon to get his first dose of the flu vaccine. (He was strangely excited and just KNEW that he was going to get his shot in his belly like Grampie does his insulin) His new pediatrician is near the K Mart on Nicholasville Rd, where Z Rock 103.3 has been doing Homeless for the Holidays all week. For the past 3 years the morning show has camped out in the K Mart parking lot for a week and raised food and clothing/toy donations for the holidays. This was their 4th year there and they were worried that with the economy donations would be down. The last I heard today this year was actually a record year!

As we were leaving the doctors I told Daniel we were going to go get a toy and donate it to Homeless for the Holiday. He proudly walked into K Mart and into the toy section chattering the whole way there about what he might pick out. He went up and down the ailes and finally decided on a big truck that had a lot of cars inside it. I picked up a couple of kids books and let him pick out a small toy since he had been so good all day. (It was only $1 but he is thrilled with it)

When we pulled up at the donation site he insisted on giving the men the toy himself. He told them this is for someone else's Christmas. Then climbed back in his car seat to go home.

I sat in the parking lot with tears streaming down my face because I was so proud of him. This from the boy who when told no is known for pitching a fit, and when in a store wants everything he sees. "Maybe Christmas will bring me that," has been heard many times over the past few weeks. When he was picking out the toy he never once asked for anything for himself, it was only when I asked him if he would like a small toy that he even thought about getting something. The fact that he is three years old and was able to give so selflessly makes me proud.