Christmas Day!

To describe Christmas 2009 in a word it was 'relaxed'. My favorite part was definitely Christmas Eve, which was spent at home with the four of us enjoying a cozy meal at our festively decorated dinner table with all our fancy dishes. Chase said it was like being at a restaurant with just us, and I have to agree it really did feel special. We ate ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls, but the best part was the Christmas miracle I received when Chase ate everything on his plate! Since Chase is a notoriously picky eater (seriously doesn't eat anything) I begged him to let us enjoy a quiet family dinner without any tears, gagging or other dramatics that go along with the cruelty of being 'forced' to eat a delicious healthy meal. He definitely delivered - thanks bud! After dinner we read Luke 2 and talked about the Christmas story for a bit. Then we bundled up to go outside and sprinkle reindeer food on the front lawn, which the kids enjoyed thoroughly. After that it was PJ's, hot chocolate, and watching the movie 'Elf' 'till the kids fell asleep. Then of course the real work began... and continued... and didn't end until about 2am when everything was finally ready for the big day. We were hopeful Chase would get up at a decent hour after last year's fiasco (he woke up in the middle of the night and opened his presents by himself), and we were happy with his 6:30 decision. Presents were a blur - I must have been a little sleepy for some reason :) - but I'm sure it was frantic and fun. Then we had our special 'gingerbread muffins with icing' breakfast, after which the kids played with their toys and mom took a nap! We went up to Grandma & Grandpa Ebert's house at about 4:00 to open more presents, enjoy another good meal and congratulate the newly engaged uncle Jeff and fiance Jen. We tried out the new sleds Santa brought (Clara wearing her princess dress) and determined they were awesome! Good times were had by all. Merry Christmas!