Christmas '08!

We spent Christmas Eve at Grandma & Grandpa Nebs. We even stayed the night! The kids adore their grandparents and were ecstatic to have a sleep-over at their most favorite place on earth.

Grandma always makes holidays & birthdays so special. It truly is a gift of hers. Christmas Eve we had a lovely program. Everyone dressed up like kings (and I'm ashamed I didn't take any pictures! What was I thinking?!? Obviously, I wasn't!) Grandma had fancy fabric for robes, and crowns for each person. We read from the scriptures and sang Christmas songs. Most importantly, we discussed what "gift" we could each give to Jesus. Owen didn't quite grasp the idea, since his answer was a sippy cup of milk. However, a sippy cup of milk is heaven in his mind.

Here are the kids on Christmas morning. Grandma had passed out matching pajamas on Christmas Eve, it's tradition:

The boys were thrilled to receive new lego sets. Adam is so great about actually playing with the kids. Here he is helping them set up their legos:
Lucy had a blast with her princess tea set, from Grandma. Every few minutes she would come running up to you shouting, "It's ready!" Translation: "The table is set and you're invited to a very special tea party."

If she wasn't having a tea party then she was

A) blowing drying her baby's hair. The blow dryer actually blows air:

B) Getting way too much love & attention . . . if that's possible:or C) Attacking or hitting her brothers. Here she is, caught in the act, about to whack Jack for no apparent reason. She's a girl, does she really need a reason to be angry? Apparently, a lot of toys and love is too much to handle.Fortunatly for us, the diva crashed unexpectedly at 10am, on a pillow in front of the television. Not only did she have a busy morning, but she was up twice during the night. Adam & I were sound asleep in the basement and didn't hear her upstairs. So poor Grandma & Aunt Coco each got a night-time shift with Lucy. I think her restless night partially explained her erratic behavior:The boys were so gracious and patient. They opened up each gift, one at a time, taking turns. They were so sweet and appreciative. I am so blessed to have such special spirits in my home:

Owen was thrilled to finally have his own light saber. Jack received one a month earlier for his birthday. Owen has been waiting in anticipation ever since:Here's Jack with "Transformers" the DVD. He's already watched it a half dozen times:

Despite the terrible snow storms and icy roads, we had a warm, cozy, beautiful Christmas Break. We ate at IHOP one morning, it's tradition. We saw a few movies, ate out way too much, snacked on Hickory Farms late at night, went sledding, gorged on Sea's Candies, read lots of books, and nobody got sick the entire break! I felt so richly blessed to be healthy and with the ones I love.