We were awakened Christmas morning with the sound of pounding feet in the hallway and the excitement of a 5 year old. Luckily, it was not 5:00. Olivia had slept in to about 8. She burst into our room with a small present in her hand, begging to open it. She was totally fascinated with it.
After much discussion, we decided she could open the small package she was clutching, and the two, yes, two packages from Santa. The small package contained a jeweled treasure box from her auntie Linda. She was in total awe. She thought that was just the coolest thing she had ever seen. She went on for five minutes about what she could store in it.
Next, she opened her gifts from Santa. We didn't get a picture of the 
Barbie, but as she opened it, she kept saying, "He knew. He knew." It was so precious. Luckily I was videoing. The awe and wonder in her voice was just precious. Next was a gift bag with the toy dog and toy cat she requested. She hasn't let them out of her sight, except for church, and even then, she brought the dog with her. She has even slept with them, eaten with them and they are her constant companion in every activity. I think they were a hit.
Barbie, but as she opened it, she kept saying, "He knew. He knew." It was so precious. Luckily I was videoing. The awe and wonder in her voice was just precious. Next was a gift bag with the toy dog and toy cat she requested. She hasn't let them out of her sight, except for church, and even then, she brought the dog with her. She has even slept with them, eaten with them and they are her constant companion in every activity. I think they were a hit.
Next we got ready for church. Olivia actually chose this dress on ebay from all the holiday dresses. It is beautiful. I had to go buys black tights to go with it as the ones we planned on her wearing ended up having a hole in them. Luckily, Fred Meyers had one last pair in her size. She is holding her bell. Our church has the children ring bells during certain portions of the service. We have a new priest this year, and he is not very child friendly. In years past, Father Tim would have all the children come forward and he would tell the nativity story. This year, Father Khan didn't do that, and the few children in attendance really missed it. It's not that we don't have lots of children, but it was snowing, and the roads were pretty bad, so the church was only about a quarter full - compared to years past when it was standing room only - literally - with people standing in the aisles. Rather than a traditional Christmas service, Father Khan chose to tell us stories of growing up in South Vietnam and how restrictive the Communist Government was. Interesting choice.
We went home and put the traditional Christmas Casserole in the oven. Usually, Chris would show up just before we left for church, and he'd stay home and cook the casserole (okay - put it in the oven. Kevin preps it the night before). He was snowed in at home, couldn't get his car up the driveway (which is pretty steep), so we missed him terribly. Since we had an hour to kill, we decided to open gifts. Olivia had a wonderful time. She made out like a bandit - but then again, so did we. Everyone got what they wanted, and then some.
The day after Christmas, it was still snowing. We spent the day vegging. By 4:00 in the afternoon, it finally stopped snowing, and it looked like it was warming up. Olivia was upset because she had spent the whole snow time being too sick to go out and play in it, so out we went. Kevin and Olivia sledded with the saucer and then took out the truck tire innertube to go down the big hill - but that didn't work too well, so they built a snowman instead. Turned out pretty nice.
Unfortuntely, it was above freezing all night, and we lost about 6-8 inches of snow overnight. The snowman lost his head (it fell off) and most of his decorations. I can see the driveway (Kevin had kept it pretty well shoveled throughout the snowy weather), and the back of Olivia's chair in the back yard.
It's raining lightly now, and about 40 degrees. I guess this will be the end of the snow. What a wonderful White Christmas we had, the first I can remember with any real amount of snow. One year when Chris was young, we had snow, but no where near this much! We have broken all sorts of records - including having the most standing snow since 1860. Can you imagine? Wow.
We hope to get down to Everett tomorrow. Looks like it will continue to thaw and melt, so as long as it is not freezing, we're off. Hope to stop by Karen's to drop off presents, and visit my dad in the hospital, where he's been for about two weeks now. Then off to my mother's to see Chris.
Happy New Year!
1 comment:
Made it home and we're looking forward to your visit. See you tomorrow!
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