Christmas wishes come true

Schmoo uttered the words "I wished for this!!!" several times this morning as she made her way through her gifts.  It was a delight to her mommy's ears.  She's a hard one to please these days and it made me so happy to see her eyes light up when she opened up gifts like the Santa Buddies movie or the Playmobil sets from Bean and hear her exclaim her happiness.  I loved how happy she sounded this morning when she snuck into the front room to check if Santa had come and she came racing back to announce that he had brought her the Pet Shop t-shirt that she had asked for!!  Bean was happy too.  He tore through his gifts and then dove into playing.  He wore his new Olympic cap from Santa all day long.  Schmoo was happy to organize her haul into a nice pile on the couch and assess what she had. 

It always amazes me what they pick out as their favourite things.  They both got a mini Olympic mascot in their stockings, which they both professed to be their favourite gift.  Bean got a remote control car from Nana that occupied lots of his time.  Schmoo loved the art set from Grandma Lady and the art book from Nana.  The movie was a big hit, especially for Papa and I, who got to crawl back into bed for a couple of hours after breakfast while the kids were occupied.  Maybe the Christmas Day nap is going to make a comeback in our house!

We talked to everyone this morning from Canada.  Nana was off to visit family for Christmas Day, so we were glad we had a chance to chat yesterday and hope to catch up with her again this weekend.  Uncle C was relaxing after a cinnamon bun breakfast, Auntie E and Uncle R were enjoying the after-present happiness of their children, Grandma Lady was enjoying the heat of Mexico and Team Indi was getting ready to pack up and head south to Lethbridge for the day.

After a relaxing afternoon, we organized ourselves for dinner at our good friends' D & C's house.  D cooked up the turkey that Papa had acquired and put out a beautiful Christmas feast.  The kids had a great time being together and got to watch another movie while the grown ups visited.  We had them home and tucked into bed by 9pm....a long, full day for everyone.

As for Mama, I had a great Christmas.....I missed having my extended family here, but enjoyed the quiet of our own little family.  I was given many wonderful gifts this Christmas, for which I am thankful.

• I am thankful for the clean house that was waiting for me on Christmas Eve, when I returned from my last minute errands in town.  Papa worked hard and so did Schmoo, cleaning up her own room.
• I am thankful for going to church on Christmas Eve.  It's been several years since we all went, and despite the craziness of the 5pm mass, it was nice to be together and see many of our Nelson friends and hear the Christmas carols.
• I am thankful for my children who slept in until 7am (in fact Bean had to be woken up at 7:30am).  With their heightened excitement on Christmas Eve, I was fully expecting a very, very, early start to our day.
• I am thankful for my children who were thankful for their gifts.  It warmed my heart every time I heard them say thank you to us today...and they said it many times.
• I am thankful for my husband, who cooks for me, lets me sleep and holds me tight.  Without him, I would be lost.
• I am thankful for good friends close by, who remind me that family is not just people who share your blood, but share your life.

Merry Christmas everyone!!