Christmas Day

(Click to enlarge pictures)

Our Christmas this year was a very special one. Jeff and I both commented that this was one of our best holidays ever. It was so nice to be at home and start our own family traditions. We missed our families dearly, but at the same time we were happy to be in our own home for Christmas for the first time in five years.

For starters, I woke up three times Christmas night, partly because of pregnancy, but mostly due to sheer excitement. I couldn't wait for Lily to wake up and go see what Santa had brought her. I was also very anxious for Jeff to open his gift from me. I woke up the last time at about 8:00 and decided to go light the tree, start breakfast and turn on some Christmas music. At 8:15 I ran upstairs with the video camera and woke Jeff up. He was still tired, but I dragged him out of bed any way. Shortly after Jeff got up we heard Lily talking to her sleepy bear and knew she was FINALLY awake. We went into her room with the video camera and asked her "Guess who came last light Lily?" She screamed "SANTA!!". She was so sweet, it made my entire morning. We came downstairs, bursting with excitement for Lily to see her new kitchen. The night before I had written "Merry Christmas Lily! Love, Santa" on her MagnaDoodle and placed it near the kitchen. When she entered the living room she yelled, "WOW" and ran towards the kitchen. However, as soon as she reached the kitchen she ran straight to the MagnaDoodle and started drawing. Jeff and I just laughed...I guess she wanted to write a thank you note to Santa. Jeff told her to look to the left and pointed out the kitchen. She quickly noticed all the little gadgets and we soon were cooking up a storm.

Most of the morning was spent slowly opening gifts and allowing Lily to play with them. She is so blessed to have so many wonderful people in her life. Thanks to all of you for sending gifts. They were ALL perfect. Our house officially can be called Dora the Explorer Headquarters!

As the morning progressed we enjoyed some yummy fruit and cinnamon rolls for breakfast and tried to make it through the mound of presents under our tree. At around 11:00 Lily was in dire need of a break so we took a time out for a Dora video and some more breakfast snacks. Jeff and I finished opening all our gifts. Thanks so much to all of you for thinking of us. Your gifts were so thoughtful. Jeff gave me a beautiful jewelry box this year and it is an organizers dream. I have already color coordinated and hung all my jewelery in it! Thanks so much Honey!! I gave Jeff a Scuba Diving Certification class. I think he is excited, as he and the guys have already planned some trips and he's not even certified yet.

After lunch Lily went down for her nap while Jeff was busy in the kitchen preparing our Christmas feast. I set the table with all my new dishes from Italy and made dessert. We missed turkey at Thanksgiving so we were happy to be having dinner at home this year. After nap time Lily opened a few more presents and then we all just relaxed and played with her toys. At around 5:00 our good friends Kim and Larry came over to enjoy dinner with us. They brought lots of food, so it was truly a big feast. Our menu included: artichoke dip and crackers for an appetizer, turkey with gravy, stuffing, potatoes, green beans, butternut squash soup and cranberry sauce for the main course and chocolate cream and berry crisp pie for dessert. It was a delicious dinner and we all stuffed ourselves silly.

After dinner Lily opened the rest of her presents. It took three separate sessions to get through them all. After Lily went to bed (she was wiped out), Kim, Larry, Jeff and I played cards until almost midnight. To end the evening we talked to our families and then fell into bed. We had such a wonderful, relaxing day. This year was truly a magical time for the three of us. I am already getting so excited for next year. We'll be a family of four and be back in the States. We hope you all had a joyous Christmas with your families. We love and miss you all!!

Even Kody and Kastor were tired after our busy day!