Christmas Day 2009

Christmas morning is our favorite time of Christmas. It is so much fun to watch the kids open their presents. I will say my children, going all the way back to my boys, are always very appreciative of what they get. Zach was in Lego heaven. We have seen very little of him since Christmas morning, as he has been building Power Miners and Castles for days!! This gift, he was not certain of.....
Look at his hands. He is a bit apprehensive. It is a remote control TARANTULA! Looks very much alive and real. He plays with it during the day, but wants to keep it in my studio at night, because, "It creeps me out". Zach had a wonderful Christmas!!Now let's talk about Charlotte for a minute. Here she is modeling her new "grown up sized" robe. She can wear a small in the women's dept. in alot of things. She has gotten so tall.
Charlotte really surprised me this Christmas. So grown up acting, and very helpful. She cleaned most of the kitchen after Christmas dinner that day and she made the mac and cheese and helped prepare the juice for the beef on Christmas Eve. The most surprising thing was just Charlotte. She NEVER shows much emotion....those with RAD kids will understand....and what emotion she shows, is forced and/or fake....you can tell. Now look at this next picture closely.....
That is some REAL emotion. I think this will be my all time favorite picture of Charlotte for a LONG time. She was really letting herself feel a good feeling. She did not melt, or fall over dead, so maybe she will see that it is ok to feel good. Pray that for her!
Kyle had a very Bears Christmas. I did not get his Bears quilt done. His birthday is in March so I can make it then....it is just tied so will not interfere with my goal list! All Kyle wanted for Christmas was a Bears bedding set. I thought the quilt would maybe feel like a jip to him, so I got him the set he wanted.He loved it....along with the leather Bears cell phone holder, Bears T-shirt, and 5 DVD's he got.
The kids opened the Family Box (a newer tradition thanks to Niki) and found a new Jonathan Parks series, Nims Island, a couple of games, and a 1000 piece puzzle.Sweetheart opened his gifts and among them was the afghan Charlotte made him. It is about 60x72 and is beautiful. I promised him I would not post a pic of him in his bath robe, so you will have to wait to see the finished gift, but here is a pic of Charlotte watching him open it....
Look at that smile!!! Again, a real smile with real emotion. A priceless gift for her mother! Picture her sitting there watching him open this gift of love....she actually flapped her hands during the process.....a happy emotion that is without control in a very small child will bring flapping with it....she is going to be ok, I think.
What did I get? I got just what I asked for....a Michi Bag!I got 2 shells, so there is the red one, and here is the black one.....If you don't know what a Michi Bag is, click here. I am having a Michi party in January, so if you want a bag or shells, let me know. My distributor will ship to you! I LOVE MINE!!!
We relaxed the rest of the morning. It was wonderful to kick back for a while. I had a ham in the crockpot and potatoes boiling, so all was well in our world.
In the afternoon, my Mother in love, and Bud and his family stopped in. Bud and Rachel were going to her Mom's for Christmas, but they wanted to see Grandma on their way out of town.

Grandma got all 4 little kids a new born plush puppy that moves and makes noises. They loved them! She bought Kyle a Bears Snuggly so he was a happy camper too! Emerson loved watching those little animated guys on the box sing and dance. She got her butt just a goin with them! I need to video tape that!

Then was the Christmas finale.......My mother in love opened her gift from us. She looked very confused and shocked when she realized what it was.The Basket Quilt. Yes, Basket Case was for her all along! Though she had not seen it in person, she had seen it on my blog and knew I was making it for a friend's mother....my best friend's mother! Actually she helped pick the block and colors!!! Her advice helped me greatly!She fought her emotions hard, but I could see she felt the love that came from it. I pray as she covers herself up in it's love she can feel how much she means to her family.

Christmas 2009 has come and gone, and even my tree and decorations are packed away until next year....I always take it all down on the 26th. The joy it brought is still in the air and you can not pack that away. We did not forget, even a little bit, in all the presents, family, and food, that this Christmas represented the ultimate gift of our Saviour. That we will take with us everyday. It will not wear out, need new batteries, no repairs will be needed, and we will not outgrow it. That gift is the perfect gift. I pray you have received that gift yourself. If not, it is not too late. That gift is one you can have any day of the year!!! Just tell God you want it and it will be delivered immediately!!!

Blessings, Bren