Christmas 09

I hope the four of you had a very Merry Christmas this year!

Ours was full of many blessings, family, and more food than would fit in my fridge.

I have so many pictures of the last seven days that another post will be forthcoming full of random cute pictures not included here. So you have something to look forward too New Year's Eve that doesn't involve Ryan Seacrest screaming into a microphone at Times Square.

Christmas morning at our house started at 7:15 when I woke up minutes before my alarm clock and realized that no little boys had come to wake us up that morning. We had threatened them with life and limb the night before (with the love of Jesus and Christmas in our voices, of course) that they had better not go downstairs without waking us up first. I was debating appropriate Christmas-morning discipline for the sneaky brothers when Brandon informed me that the boys weren't awake yet. That was officially the latest Aidan has slept in 2009. When they finally did wake up, we made them pose for pictures on the stairs before opening their stockings and presents from Santa.

Don't they look thrilled to be posing for pictures? Don't they?

Santa brought the kids a couple of things from their lists, and a few other things that they had no idea they ever wanted. (One of Aidan's favorite gifts is a pair of $4 girls' slippers from Sam's).

Harper got her first cell phone, a green Tinkerbell number. I wonder if 15 years from now we will have a similar Christmas picture of her with a cell phone.

Dane and Aidan could not wait to open their Build-a-Bears that they had made for each other.

After we opened stockings and Santa gifts, the rest of Brandon's side of the family joined us for massive-Christmas-present-opening-extravaganza. And we all learned a few things about each other:

1. My sister-in-law Adrienne plays the harmonica. She got three of them Christmas morning, and she entertained us all with a rousing rendition of Sweet Caroline.

2. Dane's love of all things Lego is apparently genetic. My father-in-law Doug got a Lego-replica of the Guggenheim Museum, and three generations of little boys sat around the kitchen table and argued over how to assemble it.

3. A twenty pound turkey will fit just fine in a fry pot intended for a 16 pound turkey, and the oil will only overflow a little.

4. Hot peanut oil will stain a driveway.

5. Harper looks very cute in Christmas leg warmers, red shoes, and a red dress.

6. Even from this angle.

7. Cousin Joel's four-wheeler that Santa brought him will entertain three little boys, one daddy, and two uncles until the battery runs out.

8. The $13 rocket is worth every penny.

Still recovering from the Christmas-food coma and the accompanying leftovers that we finally almost finished today. More pictures to come of our adventures from last week!