Christmas Day Memories

Thank you so much for all of your prayers for the Johnson Family.  They mean so much to us, as they treated Andrew like part of their family last year and we have traveled on this journey as heart parents together.  My heart just aches for them, as Josiah said his final goodbyes to his two beautiful children yesterday evening.

Things have really been put into perspective for me lately.  I know I shouldn't feel guilty celebrating Christmas and having my family with me, and I don't.  I am just reminded of the uncertainties of this life, and that none of us knows if our loved ones will be sitting by us next Christmas.  Each day is a gift from God, and only He knows what the future holds for all of us.  If anything, I have learned to hold on tighter to the ones I love, and strive to be a better wife, mommy, daughter and friend.

I am so in love with these boys!

We had a wonderful Christmas Day together at my mom's.  Someday I really want us to wake up at our own house on Christmas morning, and that had been my plan this year, but with the weather we decided to play it safe and stay at mom's.  So Santa came to Ga Ga's house, but we also had special plans for him to come again to our house when we got home Saturday night.  Andrew is still young enough not to know what day it is so he didn't notice!

We left all the paper out from Christmas Eve when Andrew was asleep and us adults opened our gifts.  I knew Andrew would wake up and LOVE to dive in all that paper!  When he spotted it he just dug right in!

 

He didn't even care there were no presents in this pile!

  

He got really into opening presents this year.  I wondered what he would do, because at home he pretty much ignores all the gifts under the tree, which is shocking I know! Ha!  He was so cute, once he got the hang of it, he'd rip the paper off, open the box and say "Oh WOW!"  It was so funny, he said it almost every time he opened something.

 

Here's my favorite story of the day...at day care the week before Christmas the kids in the whole center (all ages) colored a picture of a present and there was a fill in the blank that said "What I want for Christmas is a __________."  The older kids wrote in their wishes, and the kids in Andrew's class told the teachers and they wrote it for them.  The day I went to pick him up I noticed all the pictures hanging up, and typical things kids wanted like a football, Spiderman, a race car or train.

Want to know what Andrew's picture said?

A Zebra!

This was so funny, because he absolutely cannot get enough of the movie Madagascar.  He loves all the animals in it, but the zebra is his favorite.  My mom found this zebra from the actual movie and couldn't resist getting it for him for Christmas (before we even knew it was his Christmas wish!)

So when we saw his picture, all we could do was just crack up.  The teachers weren't sure what he meant by "zebra" (I think they thought it was a little strange!) but we knew what he meant!  He was so happy when he pulled this out of that box- I'll never forget the joy on his face!

 

Andrew got lots of other nice gifts, too.  Like Sherriff Woody and Buzz Lightyear...

We were desperate to track down the actual Toy Story movies for him, since we knew he'd love them.  He's gotten really into movies lately.  After much searching, we discovered the movies are locked in the Disney vault until this fall.  Which is why I was surprised when my mom emailed me at school one day saying she had tracked down a copy of Toy Story 1 and 2, for cheap!  I couldn't believe it, because all the copies online that I could find were in the $50-$100 range (since they are always more expensive when the demand is higher).  I told her I didn't believe it- we figured she either wouldn't get them, or it wouldn't be the real movies or something.

Well, the movies arrived today, after a L-O-N-G time...

We just laughed and laughed when we saw this envelope came from Thailand!  It was probably illegal or something!  My mom is worried now they have her credit card number!  Lol!  Oh well, a certain little boy is just grateful for Ga Ga's persistence, because as suspected, he LOVES the movies!  And to think, they came all the way from Thailand!  Ha!

He also got his first remote control truck from Papa.  He especially loves it because it looks just like Papa's actual truck.

 

This picture makes me laugh- look at his hand on his hip!  I wonder where he gets that from?  Ha!  He was patiently waiting for daddy to get the truck out of the package.  Why do stores think they have to basically all but super glue the toys to the boxes??  It takes forever to take everything out and put it together!  Oh well, gives the daddies something to do, right?

 Thank you hug for Papa!

He also got some books- a Toy Story book and "If you Give a Moose a Muffin," complete with the Moose!

I just love this picture, because isn't this what it's all about?  Just relaxing, spending time with one another, reading the paper, drinking coffee and enjoying some leisure time?  And it just wouldn't be the same without Craig's festive Santa hat. (No, he didn't wear it to bed! Ha!)

 

And it wouldn't be Christmas without a little wrapping paper fight! (Craig started it!) Oh, and that is my new bedding I got from my mom.  I've had the same bedding on our bed since before Craig and I were married, so I was due!  I love it, it is chocolate brown, tan and sage...my favorite colors together!

 

We just spent the whole day watching Andrew opening gifts, taking breaks in between to make it last.  We had a delicious brunch (Papa made pancakes!) and later Andrew opened his stocking.  Have you ever seen such a big stocking!  It is bigger than Andrew!  His first Christmas he actually fit inside it (we have pictures!)

Andrew takes his movie watching very seriously.  Is Woody getting ready for an operation??

It was a very memorable day for all of us.  We enjoyed being together and relaxing, watching the snow fall.  That night we drove around to look at Christmas lights and came home for hot chocolate.  You just can't beat that!

And after a very busy and exciting day, Andrew nestled all snug in Ga Ga's bed, while visions of his special new treasures danced in his head.

Also, please pray for our heart buddy Logan who has a cath tomorrow in Iowa City!  Thank you!