Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Christmas was so much fun this year with Mallory the age that she is. I love to see the Christmas spirit so alive in her; she wasn't afraid of Santa and wanted to gab his ear off, she likes to go on evening walks around our neighborhood to look at the lights she's seen over and over, her favorite song is "Jingle Bells," she was a very good helper when it came to shopping, and was super excited each time she got to open up a box in her advent calendar to reveal another piece of chocolate. And while it's important to remember the real reason behind CHRISTmas (she was sure to sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus while blowing out the smelly-good candle), it's still a little hard for her to grasp the concept of the Christmas story. I tried to tell her that the presents we receive on Christmas from Santa are in honor of Jesus' birthday and she looked at me like I was from another planet. She'll understand one day.
I'll say one thing that was different this year than last - playing Santa is hard work! By the time I had Mallory in bed truly asleep, it was almost 10pm. Then I had a freak out moment when she came and woke me up at 12:30am wanting to go downstairs. I had to break out the Santa-card again and tell her he might skip us if she didn't go back to bed. She put up a fight for a second but eventually caved and laid back down. Phew, that was close. Then she ended up sleeping later than her normal 6am, so Nolan and I went in to tell her that Santa had come. Even in her half-asleep state she was excited and hurried down the stairs. Her usual morning milk was totally forgotten about as soon as she saw the presents. And once she locked eyes on her bike, she was off and riding it through the house.
She was our official present opener and had a great time tearing open the packages for everyone, and then wanted to open/play with every single gift. It sort of became a sore topic as the day wore on, but I guess that's to be expected with an overwhelmed three year old. She definitely enjoyed her bike the most and we took a ride up to the park to play for a bit; the weather was beautiful and almost too warm for sweatshirts. After afternoon naps we headed over to the Meloni's for a delicious dinner, a fun White Elephant game, gifts for the kids, and family fellowship. It was definitely a Christmas I hope to always remember!
I'll say one thing that was different this year than last - playing Santa is hard work! By the time I had Mallory in bed truly asleep, it was almost 10pm. Then I had a freak out moment when she came and woke me up at 12:30am wanting to go downstairs. I had to break out the Santa-card again and tell her he might skip us if she didn't go back to bed. She put up a fight for a second but eventually caved and laid back down. Phew, that was close. Then she ended up sleeping later than her normal 6am, so Nolan and I went in to tell her that Santa had come. Even in her half-asleep state she was excited and hurried down the stairs. Her usual morning milk was totally forgotten about as soon as she saw the presents. And once she locked eyes on her bike, she was off and riding it through the house.
She was our official present opener and had a great time tearing open the packages for everyone, and then wanted to open/play with every single gift. It sort of became a sore topic as the day wore on, but I guess that's to be expected with an overwhelmed three year old. She definitely enjoyed her bike the most and we took a ride up to the park to play for a bit; the weather was beautiful and almost too warm for sweatshirts. After afternoon naps we headed over to the Meloni's for a delicious dinner, a fun White Elephant game, gifts for the kids, and family fellowship. It was definitely a Christmas I hope to always remember!
Wonderful scripture, thank you for the post Jackie. The pics are so cute, love that Mallory connects with Nolan when things are going on. She is such a delight and her Christmas wonderment was so heart warming this year, it is work but it is so worth it, especially since the innocence is so short in their lives...enjoy EVERY moment you can! Precious memories. Love you all so much.xoxo
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