And so Christmas has come and gone.
Unlike last year, when I would have offered to put its gloves and hat on and send it on its way right after the gift opening, this year… I really wouldn't have minded if it had stuck around a bit longer.
Maybe it was a purposefully slower pace. Or the fact that I did most of my shopping in September. Or the fact that my children's wish list included things like: a multipack of Sharpies, a My Chemical Romance t-shirt, and a miniature model of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Maybe it was because I knew I wasn't going back to work until January 5th. Or maybe it was just simply the fact that I'm a very lucky and blessed human with so very much to be happy for.
Like Coleman's eagerness to get up early on Christmas Eve day and start making cookies.
He made the first two batches completely by himself. I was seriously impressed.
And Aidan's complete shock to get something she wasn't expecting.
But something I think she's pretty much going to love.
Do you remember your first camera? I do. Oh sure, it wasn't no high tech digi camera. It looked a lot like this.
And then there was Cole's reaction to getting just about anything this year.
I only took about 10 pictures on Christmas morning. You're seeing 25 percent of them in this blog post. It just feels good to snap a few and forget about it.
My favorite gift? A pair of North Face gloves. Seriously. And NO one in this house is allowed to borrow them, Aidan.
And my favorite little moment was down at my inlaws, where we spend Christmas day most years. My retired Lutheran pastor father-in-law gave a very impassioned speech about hope and service in the new year before our Christmas dinner. Then, he gave each of his grandchildren an Obama story book. Dan snapped this shot of Aidan and Cole. And I'm sure these shots are going to become increasingly rare as time moves on.
No, I'm not making a political statement here. I'm sharing a shot of my kids, who still sit this closely together, and won't for long, and who are two of the people I love most in this entire world of ours.
P.S. Mom an Dan, don't worry. I'll make sure they received a copy of this, too. You know, just keepin' it fair and balanced.
I hope you all had a happy and memorable Christmas as well.
