If there is ever a day for sentimentality, today is the day.
we have a long tradition in our family of waking very early for Christmas morning. As we have aged, that tradition has shifted a little bit. This morning I came downstairs at 6am to find Caleb already on the couch with the Christmas tree lights on. We’ve moved from 4am to 6am, and from everyone being woken up together to letting other people sleep.
As I look at our tree it seems very simple.
…
The day has been a whirlwind. I started early thinking I would have time to write, but the solitude I usually enjoy while writing was quickly interrupted, and the end result would have been an unsuitable display of frustration if I would have kept trying. So I put it away, not quite sure how the day would go and unclear when I would be able to come back to it.
But circumstances have made people scarce this afternoon, and I’ve found time to finish my entry for today.
It has been an absolutely wonderful day. We were all awake by 9am, or close to, and we had a good home cooked breakfast surrounded on both sides by great conversation. Normally we would open presents right away, but we decided to wait for Jaidyn and Kaleb to come over. They were running late so we went to the lake for a walk. The dogs ran loose and it was so fun to see Moose zooming full speed up and down the trail. We got back and Jaidyn and Kaleb were here. We had a good time opening presents, and then they left to go back to his family until tomorrow.
The most heart warming time came when the kids decided to get out the photo albums. It was so fun to see how they reacted to seeing Jenn and I in the past, as well as other family members.
Things in our family haven’t turned out exactly how Jenn and I imagined they would, but I am so grateful to have a family that genuinely seems to care for each other, and enjoy each others company. I struggle to think of something more satisfying than having all my kids together happy. The day is not over and it has already been a wonderful day. I am so grateful for it.