This morning the kids woke up to many presents under the tree. (They even slept in until 8:30, a sweet gift for their parents. Of course, they didn't go to bed on time the night before, what with Christmas Eve at Grandpa and Grandma's house. When we got home at 9pm, we read our last Advent, blew out the candle one last time, and the four younger kids went straight to sleep. Not so for my big Zee. He was full of Christmas Eve excitement and anticipation. Not even a chapter from Harry Potter calmed him down--it was 10:30 before he was asleep. Fortunately, Santa's job was pretty quickly done, so Momma and Daddy weren't up too terribly late.)
Hebs got a train Lego set (the big duplo kind), and Gee got a numbers Lego set (also duplo). Em and Zee each got a Razor scooter. There were all kinds of littler-type presents, and books books books galore. Hebs and Gee got some block-books and puzzles to share, and Em and Zee got an extension kit to the SnapsCircuit set we already have. Mimi got a little book and some toys from her grandmothers, but she was most perfectly happy with the tissue paper she snagged and played with during the great unwrapping. (They're simple this age!)
For Bradley, I got him some music for the piano, a new church shirt (exciting!), and a Broadway musical CD. But the best part was the violin--he's been really wanting to learn to play the violin, but he's been a bit concerned that his hands are too big to really do it. So instead of buying him a violin, I bought him three months worth of a violin rental, from the music shop here in town. This way, he can see if it will work! It was a really fun present to plan out and give, and I think I surprised him.
For me, Bradley gave me a new calendar (Carl Bloch paintings), two new cords for my iPod (yay!), and...construction flood lights.
Huh? Construction flood lights, you say? Why, yes, flood lights. You see, I really wish we had bright lights for our side and backyard. Between masonry outer walls of our house, however, and the lousy electrical wiring, installing outdoor lights was probably out of the question, at least financially. So I've been wanting portable bright lights, that we could just plug in, and move around wherever we want. I'm really very excited about them, and now I can't wait for spring! It was a great surprise, because since winter came I haven't been thinking at all about outdoorsy stuff.
I also got several books from my mother. I'm most excited to read The Man Who Made Vermeers, all about art forgery and war crimes. Six Days of War is also well-recommended, so I'm looking forward to that one as well. Thanks, Mema!
It seemed like all the presents were a great hit--the kids spent all day playing on and with their presents. There were surprisingly few fights, and a lot of sharing went on. It has been a wonderful Christmas! (And tomorrow I'll tell you all about dinner, which was very extremely fun and successful, hooray!)
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