Thursday Thanks Tank #23

This Thursday we are still enjoying Christmas and all the joy it brought. The boys are busy enjoying their new toys each day and I am enjoying having them all play together (with Jonathan home from school). This Thursday I am especially thankful for Christmas. I am thankful that we can celebrate Jesus’s birthday. I am thankful that Jesus was born and how significant his birth is in my life. We had a lot of fun this year. I am thankful for it all. That’s my thankful thought this Thursday. So, let me tell you a bit about our Christmas.

Christmas Eve day was spent doing some very last minute shopping. Seth decided that he wanted to take the boys out to buy me a present. So, while he was out I decided to run out and get him some fun stocking stuffers. We enjoyed an early a nice dinner (lasagna, salad, bread). Then, we went to a Christmas Eve service at 6 p.m. at a local church. We drove around and looked at Christmas lights in town. We got out at the local park that was decorated with lights. It was freezing but the boys had fun running around. We went home and decorated our Gingerbread cookies and our Gingerbread house. Once the kids got in bed, Seth and I had our Christmas Eve date. We usually fondue but this year (since our fondue pot has not been recovered from the moving boxes) we simply had cheese and crackers and fruit. At some point we began to get out the gifts for the kids and realized that we had more putting together than we thought! We set out gifts that are unwrapped for each of the kids. We call these gifts “Santa Surprises” in honor of the way St. Nicholas (Santa) surprised people with gifts. Jonathan was getting a skateboard. David and Thomas were getting scooters. Elisabeth was getting an Exersaucer. We didn’t realize that there was quite a lot of putting together for that Exersaucer! It took about an hour and half. It was humorous a bit, especially when we thought about how as a 5 week old she wouldn’t be able to enjoy it right away. (I am not sure Seth found as much humor in it as me.) On Christmas morning, the boys woke up about 6:30. They were very excited and not too thrilled having to wait upstairs while we changed Thomas’s diaper and got our cameras ready (and the coffee going, of course). The boys game down and enjoyed opening presents and eating the Gingerbread house. We had pigs in a blanket as we opened presents and then we had a late brunch of pancakes and bacon. Christmas evening we went over to a house of some new friends of ours. They have 4 kids—so with 8 kids (6 boys), it was very busy and loud. We had a wonderful dinner and then played games afterward. We got home and got the kids in bed about 10 p.m. Needless to say, they were exhausted from all of the excitement.
I suppose I left out mentioning that we talked about what makes Christmas special and why we celebrate it. I also forgot to say that Jonathan took his first communion on Christmas Eve. It was very special. And, though I tried to explain it, I still don’t think that David understands why it didn’t snow on Christmas.

Christmas was wonderful. I am so thankful for Christmas joy!