Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Christmas Day at the Ostler House!

Our Christmas this past year (wow that is so weird to say!) was absolutely magical! Much of that magic is thanks to our thoughtful secret Santas’. I am praying that by this Christmas we are on the other end of that magic once again. The plus side is we are getting there! Ben actually had (and currently has) a good steady job with a LOT of promise once he becomes a regular instead of a temp. Back in August they told us it would be about two years, but more people are retiring than anticipated, so now it is looking like it will be within a year! This is HUGE for us since it will double what Ben is making, and include benefits where his employer even covers 81% of the premiums. YAY for things to come and look forward to-FINALLY! We are really looking forward to being able to relax and enjoy life a little bit more. We are also really looking forward to building our business now that things have settled down a bit. Anywho…back to Christmas 2013!
Remember how fun Jayden was with opening gifts in 2012? Well, Christmas 2013 was all the better! He LOVED the whole lets tear paper to find out what all of our new toys are tradition. With the Grandparent exchange parties, the annual Ahlstrom Family Christmas party (all of which I will be posting about right after this), opening our Christmas Eve jammies, and of course Christmas morning, we opened presents for four days straight! It was a BLAST! Needless to say Jayden was a little bummed that there were no more presents to open on December 26th, but boy did he ever have a good Christmas thanks to the love, kindness, and generosity of others. I will always remember this past Christmas as being one of our most enchanting Christmases yet!
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Guess what?! Santa definitely came!!! And let me tell you, we must have all been really good this year!
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As a tradition since Ben and I spent our first Christmas married, Santa hid many of my gifts in the tree. Can you find the two showing in the pic above?
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A very special thank you to our secret Santa (that also got Jayden his snow suit) for getting him this train/block set. It was one of his favorite gifts! You did good Santa! Blocks and trains-two of his very favorite things.
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Jayden was SO intense opening his presents this year. Needless to say, he took it pretty seriously. Which had Ben and I in all grins and giggles, as always. :)
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After basking in Jayden’s excitement after he opened all of his gifts, Ben and I moved on to opening our own gifts. With Jayden’s help, of course.
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Pearls! My guy spoils me! :)
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Money for some new jeans! SO very needed!
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We put all of the clothes that our niece Melanie shipped for Jayden in his new luggage from Grandma Ahlstrom. He was SO excited about them. This is one little boy that does not mind getting clothes as a gift.
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After presents, Jayden got busy enjoying all of his new things while Ben and I got busy making breakfast.
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We were “awesome” parents and let Jayden have hot chocolate and chips and dip, while he waited for breakfast to get done cooking. His face was priceless every time he would taste those tart dill pickles, but that did not stop him from licking the plate clean.
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YUM!
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After breakfast, we let Caleb open his gifts. He was not quite sure what to think, but definitely warmed up to the experience.
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I have said it before, and I will say it many more times I am sure. I LOVE the leading boys in my life! They are the BEST EVER! My favorite Christmas gift was getting to spend the day with all three of them-just us.We ate junk, watched movies and enjoyed all of the gifts from Santa.
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It is amazing that with all these goodies we were even hungry for dinner, but we enjoyed a splendid candle-lit ham Christmas dinner! Jayden even helped Daddy and me make it. He also sang Happy Birthday for the entire time that the candles were lit. It was so cute!
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Merry Christmas!

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