Faces on Christmas Morning

I'm sure some kind of blog police will send me a ticket for this post.  It has so many pictures.  So feel free to skip today's if you can't look at any more Christmas!  I did edit a ton out but these ..... (sigh) I just can't skip! 

When I was looking over all of the Christmas morning pictures I was so happy to see the emotion in their faces.  So here goes... faces of my daughters on Christmas morning...







Both girls got a mini pillow pet that matched the pillow pets they already had. They LOVED them!





It was an American Girl Christmas... wow, that sounds so commercial! Anyway this is Anna's first. She asked Santa for this while Abigail asked for her first bitty baby. Dolls on Christmas morning... ahh!





Do you remember Anna writing Santa a last minute letter? Well, it worked! Under the tree was a gifts addressed "To Anna, for your mommy". Anna is still talking about this gift. It meant more to her than all of the gifts put together. It did to me too!



A break for breakfast...



Okay, this was THE BEST gift surprise of the whole day for Anna! Oh, I hope this one is recorded on tape. It's kind of a long story but Anna's 'has to sleep with soft friend' has ALWAYS been her "weebe". She's had her little collection of weebes since she first came home from China. Well, Santa brought her one. A HUGE one! And I've never seen her happier! Love these faces!















And Abigail's 'must have to sleep with soft friend' is "bear, bear"! Santa brought her a new one too!





Watching the girls open their "friends" make us laugh and smile til we were crying!











More to come tomorrow... if you can stand it!

At home with Abigail and Christams Morning (part 1)

Anna and Scott went back to school yesterday.  (Tuesday) And although I had a knot in the pit of my stomach it was the most lovely day with Abigail.  I remember how sweet it is to be home alone with her.  We spent the day cleaning, organizing, and doing all of the 'regular stuff' while mixing in playing together.  And of course it made me think of next year...Kindergarten (all day, not half)  I can't imagine my lazy mornings and afternoons without her.  Oh how I love to see her relaxed and happy at home. I love...
* how she struggles to put on her bunny slippers (that Anna and I giggle about because they are really mouse slippers)
* how she took my hand away from organizing a closet, led me to the middle of the playroom floor to dance with her.
* how she helped me so slowly cook her pancake puff breakfast
* her staying in her purple snowman jammies all morning* reading every single 'snow' book in our basket in the family room all curled up in front of the fireplace
* watching Little Bear (what a sweet show that is)
* when she went to look for a special stuffed animal and came out with one at a time saying... "mommy, I'm so sad, I can't find my Kip owl anywhere" and then she'd pull Kip out from behind her back and show me.  "Just kidding"  (delightful)
* her setting up a parade with all of the kids in her new Playmobil school and singing the music to the parade

And that's just about how a day with her at home goes.  Yes, she's with me all afternoon when Anna gets home for homework and off to group viola class but there's nothing like our time together during the day.... oh, ah, yummy! 

~I could have snapped pictures of Abigail throughout the day but I didn't.  Sometimes documenting everything takes away from well... everything.

Here's a bit of Christmas morning...  there really are too many pictures.  So unless you're Anna and Abigail's Grandma please feel free to skip the next couple of days as they will all be Christmas.  I like to go a bit at a time. 

"It is good to be children sometimes; never better than at Christmas." ~Charles Dickens~

The girls were up and stirring in the hallway at 7:53... not bad!!!  And then Scott runs downstairs to turn on the tree, the fireplace and make sure that the video is taping.  Meanwhile I take a few pictures at the top of the stairs.  The excitement is at an all time high.  I wish I could bottle up that morning!   Here they are patiently waiting!



They wore these lovely nightgowns I found online. Short sleeved but with a pretty robe over it. Here is their first glimpse.



These faces make all of the late nights and tired December mommy and daddy oh so happy!







This is what they were seeing.... pure Christmas magic!



Then stockings are first. I love this one of Abigail. She's barely able to hold her stocking. They were so much fun for them to open.

Christmas Eve

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve.  Both girls danced at Mass and it was beautiful.  There are so many more pictures of Abigail dancing.  It was her first time, and she was so little and cute.  Anna was also not right in front of me, so the ones I did get of her are very blurry. 

At a last rehearsal just before Mass started.



And here we go... this is it! 




She is the little one on the left. 






Happy to be back sitting the Daddy when it was all over. 



Back at home. We have a special dinner at our house for family and some very special friends. Soups, soups, and more soups. I cook soups for 3 days. It's perfect because I can set all 4 crockpots up with the soup so they are warmed and ready to eat when we arrive back home.

Some family pictures just as everyone was arriving.





After everyone left the girls were looking up the chimney discussing how Santa does his magic.



With a tired, performing at Mass, overly excited 4 year old, there are tears. After a bath the girls headed outside in their (burr) bathrobes to sprinkle 'reindeer food' on our front lawn.








Off to bed they went.  And while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads mommy and daddy got to work!  Unlocking a closet and piling gifts around the tree... 

The Santa Claus Letters

This Christmas my girls received two very special letters in the mail... from Santa Claus. Not the typed ones you can order online... those are icky! But these were certainly from the REAL Santa Claus. Delivered two nights before Christmas, sealed with Santa's wax, and filled with details only the real Santa would know. They were written in calligraphy and filled with beautiful drawings on amazing paper.

Anna asked me that night when she was getting into bed, "mommy, did you ever get a Santa Claus letter like that?"

"Yes, a very long time ago when I was a little girl. And I remember just how you feel right now... Christmas is magic, isn't it Anna?"

"I think that the letters Abigail and I got tonight were once in a lifetime." And she drifted off to sleep.

Oh, the magic of Christmas!









This is Abigail listening to Anna read her letter to her.

Favorite Photo Friday ~ The Magic of Christmas Eve

I think I said to Scott something like, "don't worry; I won't put this on my blog; it's just for me." And then I saw Anna and Abigail in the picture. Priceless!