Merry Christmas

We stayed here for Christmas and Eric's Grandparents joined us for most of the day. I was a little sad prior to Christmas knowing we would be mostly by ourselves. We've never had a Christmas with just our family, so I wasn't sure what to expect. (Part of me was secretly relieved that I didn't have a houseful to have the house perfect for and beautiful meals ready three times a day for) And since I'm so pregnant that was a relief. The two weeks before Christmas the Dr. put me on bedrest because I started dialating early and have early contractions.. so it was probably good I didn't have a houseful.
We woke up Christmas morning and the kids were elated to find what they asked Santa for waiting for them in the living room. Taylor- a pink beach cruiser with flowers ... she's such the California girl now... I didn't even know what a beach cruiser was when I was 6. Brent- got a tool bench...
They both got a slew of other fun presents.. toys, clothes, a Wii from Grandma, American Girl stuff, spiderman toys, a t-ball set, a ring toss set, a new backpack, jacket, spiderman umbrella, which surprisingly was his favorite, movies, candy, and I'm sure I'm leaving a lot out.
We had such a fun day of opening presents, eating the traditional Breakfast Quiche, and Fruit Soup for breakfast and then we just continued to eat, eat, eat all day long. It rained on and off and it was so cozy. In breaks between the rain, Taylor would go out and ride her new cruiser and Brent got to try out his new umbrella and tools.
The highlight of our day was playing the Wii with Eric's Grandparents. Brent and Grandpa bowled against eachother and it was halirious to see my little three year old talk trash to his 76 year old Great Grandfather. ..."Gwampa, I gonna beat you"... He would effortlessly get strikes and spares while Grandpa struggled to keep his ball out of the gutter. We all got a kick out of it... and Brent won the bowling match! It was so funny! Grandpa was a good sport and came back to beat Brent by 3 points the next match.
We had a wonderful Christmas full of memories, and good food. I'm so grateful for this time of year to celebrate the Savior's birth. Being so pregnant I can only imagine how Mary felt traveling to Bethlehem... how did she ride on a donkey?? and giving birth in a stable. I have a hard time going up my stairs, and I'm so grateful for a clean hospital room that will be waiting for me to deliver in.... But seriously it makes me so grateful for all the beautiful events of that first Christmas. I hope that as our kids grow we can continue to instill the true meaning of Christmas.