Merry Christmas 2008

Soren showing off his gun. Heaven help me.

Logan taking a look at his gun.

Little Miss Muffet with her doll house. She is sporting a few bruises and a black eye from wrestling with Soren.

The kids all lined up waiting to go out to the family room.

The kids waiting to see if Santa came. I am not looking pretty this morning!

Last night for Christmas Eve the family all went over to the Porters. We have been friends with them for years and have spent Christmas Eve with them for the past 3 years. They are like family to us and we are so thankful for them. Last year Olivia was in the hospital with pneumonia on Christmas Eve and Day. The Porters were so wonderful taking care of my family while I took care of Olivia. This year we have a Christmas miracle. Olivia is not sick. Well, not like she used to be. We still struggle, but she is much improved from last year.
Last night I ended up giving Logan a sleeping pill so he would finally go to sleep. He was driving me bonkers. The other kids all went to bed fine. This morning bright and early at 6:30 am the kids came and woke Troy and I. As you can tell from the photo I did not get much rest last night. That is one of the things we still struggle with Olivia. She was congested last night and had a hard time breathing. It is our tradition to all wait in my room while Troy goes and checks to see if Santa has come. Then all the kids live up youngest to oldest and they all go out to the family room. Brings back a lot of memories from my childhood. We would do the same thing. I get so tickled to see the looks on the children's faces when they see what they got and start unwrapping presents.
Santa brought the kids a Wii this year. They are already having a lot of fun. Olivia got a doll house set. Troy and I bit the bullet and got Soren, Logan and Troy all Air soft guns. What was I thinking? We all have had a great morning and plan to rest and play for the rest of the day. I have already had a nap. Right after the kids opened their presents I went back to bed and slept for a couple of hours. Troy kept the kids busy so I could rest. Got to love the guy!
We miss all of our family on days like this, and it makes us want to be closer to everyone. We can't so we make the most of it. Our friends her have become our family, and for that I am grateful. We hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas. We are especially looking forward to have Troys Mom, Sister and her kids coming in a few days. The kids are all so excited to see their cousins. Now just a few more days until the New Year! Can you all believe how time flies?