Christmas Day

If I had to identify the three greatest gifts I received this Christmas, the list would go like this:

1. The birth of Christ
2. My family's health and happiness
3. Good travel weather

I'm so thankful the weather and roads allowed me and the kids to get to all the places we wanted to go this Christmas. It meant we made it home Christmas Day by shortly after Jeff woke up. Just in time for the kids to open even more presents.

If you've been keeping count through the last few days' blog posts, the stockings were the third gift opening event for the kids.

Among Santa's latest treats were books, candy, a few more Playmobil soldiers for AJ, and - much to Sydney's great delight - a flashlight.

From there we moved on to gift event #4: Christmas at the Jaski's. As always, it included a whole lot of people and a whole lot of presents in a pretty small space.

AJ again tried to distribute gifts from his big red Santa bag. But he quickly realized he couldn't do it alone. From across the room I could hear him say, "I need help." After a pause he clarified, "I need help from someone who can read."

As always, it was a fun evening. The kids all played together so well that Jeff and I actually got to both sit and talk with the other adults. I can't remember the last time that happened. This year was made even more special by the news that Jeff's friend Tim had just gotten engaged. The perfect ending to a wonderful Christmas celebration.