Yesterday was Christmas. I hope everyone had a great celebration with your friends and family! We had a great Christmas, and since it was our second Christmas as a family of 6, it has been neat for us to reflect on how different (in a good way!) this Christmas was from last year's Christmas! Mostly, it's been much calmer! :) Part of what slowed us waaay down this Christmas was the freak blizzard that hit on Thursday. After all those weeks of impatiently counting down to Christmas, the kids really didn't want to spend time unwrapping gifts. They wanted to play in the snow!
Our area got about 14" of snow on Thursday, but because of the high winds, it drifted a lot, so our front yard has a couple of inches and you can see the grass in spots, but then our driveway easily has 3 feet of snow. Our backyard is shaped in such a way that all the drifts were contained, so it is pretty consistently 2 feet deep, with one drift that was 4 feet deep yesterday.
So, Christmas morning we spent a while opening stockings and presents. It was a nice time. This year, we've been pretty much following a movement called "Advent Conspiracy," which emphasizes giving homemade gifts of love and quality time for Christmas instead of embracing the extreme consumerism that grips America at Christmas time. So we gave homemade gifts and a few store bought things. It made for a low-key but very special Christmas for us all.
Curtis and I were so surprised at how uninterested Bella was in the whole process. She didn't want to open the presents. We had been so sure that she was going to love tearing into everything, but nope...she just wanted to go play on her own...not even with her new toys! It was so strange! But overall, the kids did very well taking turns opening presents. I had spent time making them all aprons (girls) and superhero capes (boys), and then I made them all hats and scarves. I was so excited to see them open them and have their eyes light up! They even got to use their new hats and scarves yesterday in the snow, which made my day.
Well, once we got them all bundled up to go outside, we went out to play in the snow in the driveway. The kids tell us that it was their first time ever to play in the snow. I guess they didn't realize it would be cold and wet because they started screaming and crying when they got into the snow! So, we spent about 20 minutes in the snow, and that was it. But as I write this, the two oldest kids are outside having a snowball fight with Curtis.
And then to top the day off, the kids' birthmom called, and the kids got to talk with her. We hadn't heard from her in a while, so we were so pleased to hear that she is doing very well. Yesterday was her birthday as well, so we were glad that she and the kids got to talk. I know it made the kids' day.
We were finally able to get out of the house today. The streets are still pretty rough, but we went to McDonald's and let the kids play on the playground in hopes to relieve their cabin fever. Curtis will be off work until after New Year's, so we're looking forward to a laid back week. It's nice to have him home. He may disagree. :)
Well, I know you really read my blog to see the pictures, so here they are. You should be able to click on any of them to make them bigger:
Blizzard Pictures
Christmas morning pictures
(I took a quick picture of the gifts before the kids got downstairs!)
(the stockings were hung by the chimney with care)
(I tried to get a picture of the white Christmas in the background)
(Excited kids coming down to open gifts)
(Micah opening his stocking)
(Bella's stocking. She's going through a phase right now where she does this squinty cheesy smile for the camera, so you'll notice it throughout her photos. Frustrating, but cute!)
(Malachi's stocking. All the kids got tongue cleaning, among many things, in their stocking. They all told their birthmom about this and omitted the fact that they had also gotten things like Legos, stickers, pens, etc....I think she thought we were strange!)
(The kids and I got Curtis a new shaver. It's a neat story how we got it...ask me sometime so I can brag on my kids! Curtis proceeded to shave off his beard. The kids have never seen him without facial hair, and Liliana told him he looks like he's still in high school. It's true! He has a high school face and gray hairs! :) )
(I think this was pretty much the only gift Bella actually opened on her own!)
(Liliana's hat and scarf)
(The aprons I made for the girls so they can be Momma's helpers in the kitchen!)
(The kids got several great books from their great grandparents, MoMo and Grandpa. The boy loves horses, for sure!)
(Our living room exploded!!!)
Playing in the Snow
(the snow buddies ready to out and play)
(I had to dig a coat out from the back of the coat closet. My wool coat wasn't suitable for such unusual Oklahoma weather!)
(The kids enjoyed clobbering Curtis with snow!)
Well, that's about it. I do have a video of the kids opening their stockings, but this post is long enough already, so I'll save it for another day! Merry Christmas!
