"More Than I Expected!"

Christmas is here again, and to quote Madison, "It was more than I expected!"  Indeed it was, as she woke up early to go downstairs and discover a whole lot of presents beneath our tree from Santa.  Madison patiently waits for Mommy and Daddy to come downstairs, the three of us in our pajamas, setting up Christmas music and watching Madison open her gifts one at a time.  It's such a magical time each year as Santa somehow always overdoes it, blessing us with so much, and so much more than just gifts.

Here's Madison with one of her favorite gifts, a Mal costume that she's been hoping for.  She asked for this from Santa some time ago with her letter, and despite being pretty tough to come by in October, evidently it was no problem for the man with the bag.

This is the face of Christmas morning, but it was one we all had to be honest.  It was such a wonderful morning, and it was made better when we Skyped Nana and Ba-Ba from Florida, and shared with them the play-by-play of the morning, broadcasting the presents as they were opened, and making spirits bright.

Afterwards, of course we went over to Nana and Ye-Ye later on in the afternoon.  It was some time later though, as there was some difficulty with Uncle Dave, who had to go to the hospital this morning. Unfortunately, his Christmas was a bit more bleak, as was Aunt Shain's family, of course.

All were able to come together later though, despite the absence of Dave.  Thanks to the generosity of the radio station, we had a big Honey Baked Ham dinner, and thanks to the generosity of Daddy's friends, Aunt Shain came away with another hefty contribution to help out with her needs.  But the gift exchanges were nice as well, as everyone was blessed with lots of thoughtful gifts.

One favorite part of the Christmas festivities is always the white elephant gift exchange, which was hysterical as always.  There's this ugly clown doll that keeps getting passed around from year to year.  But other highlights included a ninja gnome and a leg lamp ice cube maker.  It's funny the things that get everyone excited.

We had desserts, including our birthday cake for Jesus - we sang "Happy Birthday" as well, and watched "A Christmas Story" for the billionth time, as it plays all day long on one of the television stations is famous for playing it all day long each Christmas.

We got home a little later tonight, playing with some of our new toys and winding down somewhat for the evening.  Mommy and Daddy exchanged gifts, opened stockings, and enjoyed the waning hours of the day.  It was a Wet Christmas today - pouring rain all day.  Quite a bit different from a few years ago, when all was white.  But the weather outside doesn't spoil Christmas.  As they say, "the weather outside is frightful, but inside it's sure delightful."  And that's what it was for us all day today.