Merry Christmas

Finally! Jonas was more than excited for this day. He was so excited, in fact, that he woke up at 1:20 a.m.! Thankfully, Santa is smart enough to place some gifts in my room for him so that Jonas can enjoy some Christmas fun without going into the living room or waking everyone else up. And, fortunately, Jonas was still too tired after seeing the puzzles, coloring book/pencils, and candy that he was totally ok to climb in bed with Jeff and I to fall back to sleep. Unfortunately, I wasn't really able to go back to sleep being sandwiched between Jeff and Jonas, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. These years are fleeting. I am enjoying the magic of the season through Jonas's eyes. Finally, 6:00 rolled around and it was time to get everyone up. Jonas was beyond excited to see that Santa not only brought his bow and arrows but also a target to shoot! Santa was also generous with what he placed in all the boys' stockings. For the next hour or so, our living room was a flurry of wrapping paper and excitement. In addition to the Christmas surprises, Danny and Jonas also opened a Disney gift card and were informed that we would be going to Disneyland at the end of January! I have wanted to take Jonas to Disneyland for awhile. I had planned to do so in 2020 but COVID put an end to that. Now we are finally able to go. Jonas will be fully vaccinated by then and Jeff, Danny, and I have even received our booster. We are excited!

The rest of Christmas Day was just spent with family. We had our traditional waffle breakfast that morning and our traditional prime rib dinner that night. During the day, Jonas bounced from toy to toy. Danny helped him construct his Legos. Jacob showed him how to shoot the bow. All the boys (minus Jacob) went on a little One Wheel ride (because we got another One Wheel for the family for Christmas). Unfortunately, Casey crashed and hurt his shoulder pretty bad. Thankfully, it wasn't more serious, but it was painful enough that he needed to get some imagining done. Jacob and Amber left around lunchtime but Gma, Grumpy, and the missionaries joined us that evening. We played more games and enjoyed a little chocolate and vinegar tasting. Jonas wasn't too impressed with the vinegars, but we all had fun. All in all, it was the perfect Christmas. It was a day of giving (and receiving). It was a day with family. It was a day of fun and laughter. And yes, it was even a day when we were able to take a moment to remember Christ.

(As a side note: for Christmas, Jeff got us a date to a cooking class at Harmon's. We've done this once before and really enjoyed it. This time was just as enjoyable. It was an evening of seafood. We learned how to make crab cakes, shrimp cocktail, lobster macaroni and cheese, and coconut beer battered shrimp. It was really fun and really yummy!)