Christmas Day

I've been having too much fun to take time to blog, so I'm going to try and catch up on a few pics. These are from Christmas Day. Even though the kids' main Christmas present was our trip to NYC, Santa still managed to bring a few goodies.

Bryant literally played with his train set for three hours without a break. I think he liked it. Bradley enjoyed "helping" him with it almost as much!
Bailey suddenly started begging for an American Girl doll about a week before Christmas. I told her I didn't know if Santa would be able to get the e-mail and shift gears that close, but he figured out a way. She has barely put her down since. Meet Ruby...
And she finally got the snow globe she'd been after. This one came as a belated gift from NYC. It's also a music box and depicts a scene from New York, including the Statue of Liberty. I love it as much as she does.
Fortunately, Mom and Dad were pretty sure that Santa was going to come through with the train set for Bry, and Daddy built him a train table to put it on. It is awesome! He couldn't wrap it, so we had to take Bryant out to the truck for the unveil. He was so excited. I am too, thinking of all of the hours of self-entertainment in our future!
We did Christmas with the Reids after lunch. I'm so blessed to have my folks and grandparents living so close. We had a wonderful afternoon together. This is Bailey after opening her ladybug habitat. When we get back, I've got to send off for ladybug larvae. How many of you have that on your post-Christmas shopping list? She couldn't have been more thrilled. Bizarre, I know, but the child is fascinated with bugs. Probably a sign of true genius.
Group hug with Granddaddy. Bryant had already crashed at this point.
We decided as a family to do Christmas a bit differently this year. Instead of giving each other traditional gifts, Mom and Dad, Karen and Bill and Jeff and I all made lists of things that we would like each other to contribute towards. It felt so good to open a gift and find a check towards my dear friends' international adoption or the orphange in India. This is definitely going to become a tradition for us. (Sorry for the spoiler, Jamie - I can't wait to give you the checks!)

Bradley and Bailey also went through the World Vision catalog and chose items that they wanted help in donating. Bailey really had a hard time choosing; she wanted to pick all of it. They were so excited to open their envelope telling them how many farm animals they were sending to needy families. I love that World Vision makes it so easy to do this. And I love having another opportunity for them to remember that Christmas isn't just about getting. I'm so proud of them and the people they are becoming.

It was also a special Christmas because my grandmother's health is in fairly rapid decline, and there's a good chance it will be the last one we get to spend with her. But she and Granddaddy were right there in the mix, and I think it did her heart better than any medicine to get to share Christmas with her great-grandkids. Any time you have four generations together like that is special.

We left for Florida about 4 a.m. on Friday, and we are thoroughly enjoying the incredible weather and time with family. More pics to come...