Christmas Day

We had a great Christmas Day! Everyone was healthy and we were very happy about that. There have been many Christmases where that wasn't the case. Abigail got up around 7:15 and J.T. came out around 7:30. We waited a few minutes for my parents to arrive. Then we all went into the living room to see if Santa had been there. Indeed he had! He actually made quite a mess with the ashes coming out of the wood stove.

Abigail and J.T. each received a portable DVD player to take with us on trips in the truck. They got a couple of DVDs too: "Madagascar" and "Happy Feet."


Here's Papa Walt and J.T. with a new little tractor that J.T. can take to Ma and Papa's house....


The kids each received a couple of books from my parents which were signed by the books' authors. Here's Abigail and Papa Walt reading one of the books.

We took a little break in the middle of the day to rest and have some quiet time.

In the evening, Andy's mom and step-dad and my parents came over. Abigail was very excited to get this horse, "Jackson", to go with her American Girl doll, "Nicki", that she got the night before. She also received some outfits for Nicki from Andy's parents.

J.T. got an old-fashioned barn and grain silo, plus some animals and tractors to go with it. He really liked it, even though you can't tell in this picture.

I did something I don't usually do.... I passed my camera to Andy so there is actually proof that I was here for Christmastime.

For J.T., this year, it was very much a John Deere Christmas. I think 75% of things he received were John Deere (wall clock, bed sheets, sweatshirts, light switch cover, boots, socks, night light, tractor carrying case, wind-sock, stocking cap, hat, etc). Andy also got a couple of John Deere things.... one was this stepping stone.

I received a bag full of goodies from Andy's parents, including my favorite Victoria Secret Heavenly perfume and lotion, socks, a candle, a beautiful Silpada pendant, and more.

Here's my gift from Andy: a new telephoto zoom lens! I haven't had time to get outside and try it out because it's been cold and/or raining, but I hope to try it out over the next week or so. Also, this picture doesn't show it very well, but my other gift from Andy was a bench that he made (actually he just gave me this big board on Christmas morning but then he built it in the afternoon). I wanted it to use for taking pictures of the kids outside. I plan to paint it red.

My parents got me this really cool photo backpack to carry all my gear! My other favorites from my parents were a gift certificate to my favorite jeans store and one to get a pedicure!

We had a wonderful Christmas with our families. I am so thankful that we were all healthy and were able to be home on Christmas Day. I am also very thankful for all the fabulous gifts we all received from our families.