hope yours was, too

Our Christmas was just. plain. wonderful!

This year, more so than any other year, I saw a new beauty, a deeper character in my children on Christmas morn. They were actually more excited about what they gave than what they got!

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There were so many heartwarming or funny moments that it would be too hard to remember them all and record them all... so here are a few snippets.

The kids set their alarms (yes, my kids have to set an alarm for Christmas morning) for 7 a.m. We went downstairs and saw what Santa brought... my favorite thing was a note that said,

"Dear.... (kids)...

When you go to Mass this morning,

remember to thank the Lord for

the very best gift of all: the Christ child.

No one loves you more than He does...."

Then we ate breakfast, went to Mass, came home and opened one another's gifts. It was so nice to see the thoughtfulness and generous spirit in each of them.

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Another really nice moment was the day that King took the kids to the zoo and my mom (who spent Christmas with us) and I went to lunch, then shopping, then a movie (The Blind Side). We went to Atlanta Bread Company and they still had Christmas music piped in. How nice that it was 2 days after Christmas, a time when most retailers are looking to the next big holiday, and they still had all their decorations up and they were not only playing Christmas music, but it was the Christian form of Christmas music... y'know: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, We Three Kings, etc. And unless I was just there at the right time, there were no Santa songs, praise be! So, shout out to the A.B.Co!

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One of the things the kids received this year was a trampoline. Number 2 is having a BLAST on that thing. It doesn't matter to him that it is 34 degrees outside, he is out there jumping away. I want to try to get on it... yes, I am a bit fearful that I will either break it or end up in the E.R. (Redneck's last words: "Hey, yawl, wah'chiss!") Yeah, well. We'll see.