One picture...that's all I got. Good thing it's a cute one. Minus the fact that it was taken at 6:00 in the morning and is missing Cameron because he was still asleep.
We did Christmas a little different this year. I want to share our experience, but I want to make sure to mention that it was really made possible by the fact that our children have such wonderful grandparents and great-grandparents. We are truly blessed in the family department!
This Christmas season we have really tried to focus on giving and sharing. The kids all say their favorite thing we did was that instead of Ryan and I buying the kids presents, we donated that money to an orphan in the Ukraine. They talk about her (and the little boy we donated to also) all the time. For some reason it really made an impact on them and I am so glad. We also had several other opportunities to give to other and I was so proud of the kindness and generosity of our children.
Then we decided that maybe we hadn't done enough. We really wanted our children to learn a lesson, and to feel like they were sacrificing something. We talked to the kids about how there are other children all over the world who have never received presents. As a family, we decided that we would write Santa a letter asking him to please skip bringing presents to our house this year and give them to children who really needed them. The kids were pretty excited about this and so was I.
On Christmas Eve we set out the kids stocking and filled them with a few cool things that my Dad had gotten them, and some candy. (They knew that Ryan and I were doing stocking and not Santa.) Then, I wrote a note from Santa to the kids about how proud he was of them and how kind they were, and left it on top of a game that he brought for the kids to share. I had a little moment of panic and wondered if this was really okay and if it would scar my kids for life :)
Christmas morning wasn't big and flashy, but it was wonderful. It was truly the best Christmas we have ever had. The kids came downstairs and read the note. They were thrilled that Santa had come and had left them a game, and they were also thrilled that somewhere, some children were receiving "their" presents.
Then we had a great time opening all the presents under our tree from Mimi and Bear, Nana Blair, and Mok and Pok. We have such wonderful family! They got everything on their wish lists and more.
They have already asked if we can do the same things again next year. I think I breathed a sigh of relief that things went so well. I have been blessed with the most wonderful, caring, generous children that I could ever imagine. We have been so blessed this year!
Mom, Dad, Josh, Jess, and Henry all stopped by around lunch time to visit and see the kids new toys. This is the first picture of Mom and Dad with all SIX of their grandchildren.
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