Our Christmas

Christmas Eve we visited Grandpa Norton (Matt's grandpa from Pennsylvania) at his hotel in Glenview.

In the evening we went to church, and then the kids opened one present before bed, (that's what I did as a kid).

Claire wrote a note to Santa. Her notes are so cute I can't stand it.

Then the kids left cookies for the big guy, and went to bed. Santa wrote them back, of course.

In the wee hours of the morning, the kids woke up and stockings were torn open. It was so cute to listen to them (from upstairs in my bed) as they tore open stocking gifts and compared what they got.

Then, after we got ready, had breakfast, and generally tortured the children by making them wait....

PRESENTS were opened! Swords and shields were opened...

...crossbows were discovered....

...knitted cell phone holders were given to daddy...

...hugs were shared.

Claire's big gift was a digital camera. She was very happy! I think she took about 400 blurry pictures. I'll have to post them soon.

Then Matt's family came over. Aunt Rebecca gave Sammy candy. Thanks Aunt Rebecca! He wasn't riled up enough! :)

Aunt Sarah brought her new boyfriend, Tom. I won't blog him yet...it's too early. Haha. But she seems very happy with him, which is nice. We love Aunt Sarah.

This is "Uncle I-hate-having-my-picture-taken-by-my-dorky-sister-in-law David". He's in 8th grade and hasn't actually looked at my face or addressed me directly since Matt and I got married 8 years ago, but today he said to me "Susan, where can I find a glass?" and I almost fainted! He's literally managed to never directly address me before! I think we're getting closer. We're growing.

Naps on couches were taken.

Colorforms were played with...

Needle felted families were made, (the little needle felting kit was a huge success...Claire made this little family all afternoon).

Goodbyes were said.

The aftermath was assessed.

An arsenal was collected, (yes, he did get this crossbow, cowboy gun, sword, and slingshot all for Christmas) and it was our 4 year old boy's dream.

Claire could open a library with all the books she got today! I'm very excited about Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenske.

And finally, goodnights were said and the day was ended. It was a really good Christmas.

***For those interested in a funny Sammy story: Sammy had technically requested a "real" sword, and asked Claire to put that on his Christmas list (since he can't write/spell).  She did, but instead we got him a wooden one, (of course). When he opened the box he looked at Claire in a very exasperated way and said "Claire....what did you WRITE?!" I laughed so hard. He actually ended up loving the sword, especially with this sweet sheath from etsy, but I love that he thought Claire just must have written it down wrong. ;)

Merry Christmas everyone!