Christmas Craziness

I must confess that I didn't even decorate this year. Not even a tree. Which is unheard of. I am normally the Queen of Christmas. But I finally had to accept the fact that I'm probably only halfway through my wait for Mia. And the realization that I was going to still be without her through another holiday season AFTER this one just ran me over like a bulldozer. I don't think I've ever experienced a depression as bad as this one was. But I'm feeling better. I'm working on digging myself out of it. And very much looking forward to starting fresh in the new year.

Since I was pretty down in the dumps this holiday season, Griffey and I decided to spend the night at my sister's house on Christmas Eve to try to take my mind off things. It helped. My niece and nephews always crack me up. They drive me a little crazy sometimes. But they always brighten my spirit. People fighting over who gets to sit next to me at dinner does wonders for my self esteem. LOL!
After a nice dinner, we put on our matching pj's. With penguins, of course. Here are some of the attempts at a picture with not only 4 squirmy kids but 2 dogs who insisted on getting in on the action.
After about a hundred takes, we ended up with a few that weren't so bad. Isn't it cute the way Travis slung his arm around my neck? He's my little boyfriend. It's good to know there's at least one man in the world who adores me. LOL!

We also tried some with only kids. I think this is the best of the bunch.
But this is my favorite. It depicts the T's in their truest form. Slightly off balance. I love that look on Tanner's face. Like he's so grossed out that his little sister has her arm around him and his little brothers are leaning on him. Ahhh..... sibling love.

After the jammie photo shoot, we settled in to watch our favorite Christmas movie, The Polar Express. I love that one. In true procrastinator fashion, none of the presents were wrapped. Wait now. MINE were.... but the T's parents had not even started. So Carla snuck upstairs to wrap while I kept the little ones busy with the movie. Then it was time for bed. We tried to be all festive and read a couple of holiday bedtime stories. I narrated Twas the Night Before Christmas. But I think it was pretty much lost on these guys who were totally wound up and not happy about going to bed. Finally, they were all tucked in and the wrapping was done. Then I set up Tatum's dollhouse. Here's the finished product.

On Christmas morning, the adults were all up before the kids. They're late sleepers. It runs in the family. Even Grandma made it over and sat down enjoying her coffee while we waited for some movement from upstairs. Tatum was the first one up and snuck downstairs. She made it around the corner before anyone even knew she was there. So I gathered her up on my lap and made her close her eyes so her parents could grab the camera and get the video recorder rolling.

The dollhouse was a huge hit. She loved it! Mommy and auntie even played with it for awhile later that morning. It's pretty sweet. Finally, all the boys got up and the mayhem began. So now I'll subject you to loads of present opening pics.

Tanner was psyched to finally get a Guitar*Hero video game of his own.

A little while later, my brother and his girlfriend showed up. Braeden opened his present. It was a kick ass Tonk*a front end loader.
But look what the boys chose to play with instead. Yep. They were both lovin' the dollhouse. Forget the Hot*Wheels cars, the Tonk*a trucks, and the Fisher*Price parking garage. They wanted to play with the dolls. It was hilarious! My brother and bro-in-law cringed a little over that. I don't think playing with dolls as a boy will affect their macho manly man- ness.

After all the presents, we had a big country breakfast. It was delish and we were all stuffed. Travis & Kristy had to leave and go to her family's celebration. The rest of us just hung out. I didn't even get outta my jammies until mid-afternoon. The kids stayed in their's all day. They played with all their new toys. The adults played some, too. Grandma took a nap on the couch and all the T's giggled over how loud she snored. LOL! We made some more munchie food in the afternoon. My bro-in-law got the Bourne*Ultimatum DVD for Christmas. He was shocked to find out that I hadn't seen the first two movies yet. So we had a Bourne movie marathon.

It really was a great day. No running around. No stress. Lots of lazy relaxing, lots of laughs, lots of good food, and hanging out with some of my most favorite people. It totally helped perk me up. I wish every weekend could be like that one.