Monday, February 9, 2015

Our Magical Christmas!

Well folks, after weeks of absolutely no snow that stuck, I am pleased to say that we got a wonderful Christmas miracle. SNOW! I looked out the window at about one in the morning and it was really coming down. Thanks to that going all night long and into the morning, we got one VERY white Christmas. Seriously, Mother Nature did not disappoint in the gift department this Christmas.
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The surprises kept coming as we saw what Santa brought and enjoyed a happy and wonderful Christmas morning together as a family. Jayden was SO excited about the whole thing this year and talked about Santa coming and what he wanted for months. It made it all so fun! The best part? Santa secured all $150 of his most desired toys for just $35 thanks to a random (and very laid back) late night Black Friday run for bread and milk, and a Cyber Monday deal. I could not be more thrilled about seeing his dreams come true that morning. It was just the best. Can’t wait to continue Christmas Days and memories with my boys. So excited that Tristan will be joining us this year! It is all getting so real as I near my third trimester-where does the time go? Glad I can say we are already all ready for his arrival.
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His excitement when he opened all of the toys he had been dreaming and talking about the past several months were absolutely priceless.
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Looks as though Santa thought Jayden had been a pretty good boy last year. I would have to agree with him.
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The nice part about Jayden opening everyone else's presents to is that he is a part of the whole experience rather than being done with it and wanting to just play with his new toys-I'll take it! Since Ben wanted only presents that geared towards our family's preparedness, I thought it was only fitting that he get the Christmas cash from my Grandma Ahlstrom for a little bit of fun money. He got a stove pot that charges phones and what not, with just the energy from boiling water, an LED waterproof rechargeable light wand, and a utility knife complete with a seatbelt cutter and a glass breaker for windshields and such. I know these things will come in handy one day, and he was pretty excited about them, so that is good.
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The purse and head warmer I told Ben I wanted-love them!
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Ben was a bit of a stinker (as always) and deterred from our stated budget for one another a bit and got me one REALLY big surprise this year. I have been wanting one for over a decade, so needless to say I was a bit speechless and emotional upon opening it.
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My cognac leather jacket with the side zipper just like I had dreamed up in my head!!! It fit me perfectly-just like everything Ben buys for me. When it comes to shopping and gift giving, I picked a good one folks!
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I LOVE IT!!!!!
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This amazingly soft blanket was not a bad gift either.
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Caleb was pretty excited about his presents and the treats in his stocking too. Jayden was such a good helper after all the present opening to help clean up all the paper and garbage.
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We had a wonderful Christmas Day. It was complete with present opening, hot chocolate, goodies, movies, a yummy candle-lit Christmas Dinner, and working on the final hats to give away at my family’s Christmas Party later in the week. We did not end up going anywhere due to being snowed in, and you know what? It was pretty nice to just hunker down at home for the day and relax. Especially since Ben had been working 7 days a week for the 6 weeks before Christmas, and Christmas was his first day off. I LOVED our precious time together. It was such a wonderful day.
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Jayden got pretty spoiled with goodies. He also really loved the fact that his “drum” had a ton of yummy popcorn in it!
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Caleb’s toy lasted all of five minutes-just like we anticipated. Ben surprised me with some Almond Kisses in my stocking. He spoils me!
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I think it is safe to say that Jayden LOVES his new toys! There was a lot of his excited squeals and jumping throughout Christmas Day. He also kept saying how nice it was of Santa to get him his toys and thanking him. I love how grateful he is about the things he has in life.
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Caleb was a bit of a whiner as we were getting ready for our Christmas Dinner and I told Ben to put him up in his room until we finished. As Ben was walking over to do so, Jayden went running past him and blocked the way to the gate as he exclaimed “No Daddy! Don’t put him in his room!” Needless to say, it was so cute and touching that Caleb stayed out. These two truly are the best of buddies, and they always have each other’s backs.
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Our candle-lit turkey steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans Christmas Dinner complete with sparkling apple-grape Martinelli’s. Can you say YUM?!
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Later that evening, we frosted some more cookies, bundled up, and took some to the neighbors that were home. The cold really caught us off guard as we had just been using a light jacket-if that-for weeks. A week later we were back to the light jacket and yesterday we all went to the park in t-shirts and shorts. This has been one weird Winter season. I LOVE it, but am hoping this is not leading up to a miserably hot and dry Summer.
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We love our little free spirit! He danced around the living room like this for several minutes.
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We ended the day talking about Jesus’ birth and how much He loves us and we love him. Jayden was so cute about it all. Merry Christmas indeed!

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