Because we were observing Advent as best we could, we didn't put up our tree until Christmas Eve. It was very exciting for the kids on Christmas Eve. I was cooking festive food, Papa was supervising the tree decorating, and there was an approaching winter storm to add even more excitement.
My goofy kids decorating the tree:
Therese doesn't let her feet slow her down and was able to help decorate by getting on a step stool on her knees so she could reach more branches.
The kids thought they should use whatever was in the plastic storage bins, so Jose tried to festoon the tree with a Christmas napkin.
Our family that live close by came over for the family gift exchange. We tried to get a picture of the kids by the tree, but they were in various stages of silliness. This was the best one:
Excitement builds as the presents are sorted out.
Jose had one of the biggest presents and he was ready to rip into it first.
Thomas showing his happiness by giving us a good look at his fine tonsils.
Our two newest family members were very excited. They both kept saying, "Thisa mine?!" as each present was handed out. They were thrilled by everything!
I love my little sister. Yes, I was unable to resist using the enema box. And my sis is a great sport--she opened it, held it up, and said, "just what I needed!" Inside was a very special scarf and bracelet from Guatemala, selected with help from her Mayan nephews.
After late naps and a very late dinner, we got dressed to go to Midnight Mass. In all my years of being Catholic this is the first time we went to a Midnight Mass that actually started at midnight. The kids all looked great dressed up but they were so excited that our picture attempts didn't turn out very well.
I did get some cute ones of the kids individually. Here is our little Christmas girl. You can see the owie she got on the plasmacar on her birthday. It matches her Christmas dress. Catherine wore this dress when she was 3 and it has a cute hat to match, but Therese's head is so small the hat completely covered her head.
I thought her excited face was very funny. She is such a happy, silly little girl.
John said, "I like it, this one dress," about his new shirt and corduroy pants. He thinks all clothes can be called "dress" or "jacket". It makes sense when you think about it. We always say it is time to get dressed, so he just uses the noun that matches the verb.
We drove home from Christmas Mass in the wee hours of Christmas morning, in a wintery mix of sleet. We slept in, had cinnamon rolls, and then opened our family presents together.
