Christmas at our house.

Christmas is such a fun time for our family. Mostly because Trey acts like a kid himself and makes sure we follow every tradition and savor every moment. He has loved Christmas all his life, and wants our girls to have the same happy memories he does. As some of you know, it was Trey who got up at 3:30 a.m. on Black Friday to shop for Barbie dolls and princess pjs. He hung mistletoe in our kitchen, put lights on the house, put up the tree and decorated it with Ava and Isabel, and constantly ran Christmas errands for me without a single complaint. At night, we usually had a fire in the fireplace, cider on the stove and Burl Ives, Bing Crosby and Trey entertaining us with Christmas oldies! He read Christmas stories to the girls every night in December, and made sure we watched all the Christmas classics. In 11 years of marriage, what I unwrap on Christmas morning is never as special to me as the "little things" my husband does all month to make Christmas so memorable for us.

Christmas Eve, 2009: Trey entertained Isabel for the afternoon so Ava and I could bake cookies for Santa and to take to the upcoming family get-togethers. Then we started supper and were surprised by a knock at the door and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus! Maybe he just wanted to nibble on a few of our cookies before making his rounds. After he left, the girls put eggnog and cookies on the hearth and Trey read the "Night Before Christmas" to them. Then another surprise: Big Daddy and Commie called to tell us it was snowing! So Trey and the girls bundled up and went out to sprinkle oats and glitter for the reindeer. (the Lovelis' shared this tradition with us, the oats for the reindeer to snack on and glitter to guide them to our house) as big, flakes of snow floated down. It was truly a perfect Christmas Eve.

Our perfect Christmas Eve came to a halt when I awoke in the middle of the night, not to the sound of reindeer hooves on the roof, but that of a child throwing up. (maybe she stuck her little finger in the icing one too many times . . . mixed with eggnog. . .) So I spent the early hours of the morning rocking her as she moaned "my tummy hummy" (my tummy hurts me) She talked to me for a long time before she finally fell asleep. So even though I hated she was sick and we didn't need to miss half a night's sleep, it was sweet to cuddle her and enjoy the peace and quiet and pretty Christmas tree lights. (If I'd have known then that in a week's time we all would come down with the stomach bug I might not have been so optimistic about it!)

Christmas Morning: Flashback to Christmas morning of 2008 when Ava and Isabel got little pink mailboxes that were $1 each. All morning, no matter how neat or big of a toy they opened, the girls kept going back to those mailboxes. They played with them all morning, and talked about them non-stop. We thought it was hilarious and made comments like "next year all they're getting are toys from the dollar store!" Well, we forgot of course, until Christmas morning 2009 when Ava and Isabel got silly putty in their stockings. They couldn't put it down, talked about it all morning, played with it in the tub. When Commie called to ask what they got- Ava said "silly putty!" Later, at other Christmas gatherings they told family members that Santa brought them silly putty. Seriously, next year: dollar store!!

My favorite gift was a little set of earrings and a necklace that Ava gave me. Earlier in December, Commie took Ava shopping for her family. She picked out gifts for Isabel, Trey and me and wrapped them. Coleen said she was so excited about them, and Ava somehow was able to keep them a surprise until Christmas morning. As she gave them to each of us, she couldn't contain her excitement. She kept squealing and hugging Trey as he tried to open his! (she chose a gumball bank for him and a makeup kit for Isabel) Thanks Coleen for doing this, it made Ava so happy and us too!

It doesn't take much to impress Isabel! (This is a doll hat with a dollar bill in it that Ava put in her stocking. )

Ava is thrilled to discover her present from Uncle Robin and Aunt Judith is a doctor kit. (Riley got one for his b-day and she really liked his. )

Here's the letter that Santa left for Ava and Isabel (how does he know all that stuff?)

Other pics from the morning, including the scavenger hunt clues that ended in the front yard with a new jeep for Ava and Isabel!