Christmas 2008

It was truly a wonderful Christmas. It was our first year as a family of four, and I feel blessed beyond measure when I think back now. It didn't get off to a flawless start, however, when Coley got an ear infection the Sunday before. Three days of scary high fevers, sleepless nights, and needy cries made things a little tough. But I know that it is just part of the parenthood journey. My children manage to find inconvenient times to fall ill. Last year, when Chris went to Orlando and the ice storm hit, Mia got really sick with a bad virus. With no power at our house or the doctor's office, we just toughed it out. Oh yeah, and I was 8 months pregnant with Coley too. So, when Cole got sick and we had to take him in on Christmas Eve Eve, I was not surprised to find the after-hours clinic closed for the Holiday a day early, and we ended up in the ER. The doctor reassured us that he did not have pneumonia (which was a fear of our pediatrician's, and why we took him in that night), and we went home. But, I digress. This was my post about Christmas!

This year, our church had a Christmas Eve experience, and we were so happy to get to attend. That was after a frenzied morning of cooking for dinner and wrapping presents, and it was a much needed time of re-focusing on the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas Eve is traditionally spent at Momo's house.

Kenny, Alyssa, Ana, Helen, and my Dad all joined the four of us and Momo. We ate a delicious dinner of smoked turkey (Chris had to go to her house at 3 am to get it started - and it was worth it!) and ham...plus a bunch of other great items. Then, after the dishes were cleaned, we started into the presents!


The highlights for us:
Chris - his helicopter from Brookstone - he and Kenny flew it all over the place, even hitting Ana in the eye

Mia - her Princess tent from my dad
Cole - his ride on/push train from Momo
Me - my new purse from Momo
After all of that plus dessert, we headed home...for Santa had a busy night ahead of him! We left Santa cookies and chocolate milk (according to Ruby from "Max and Ruby," chocolate milk is his favorite) and we left the reindeer food on the front lawn. We put the kids to bed, and Cole stayed in his long enough to let us fix the breakfast for the morning, assemble his train table and train, and wrap all the presents for the kids and each other. Of course, we got into bed at 1:15, and he was awake at 1:30 - still with a fever, and still really fussy. We brought him down with us and slept off and on until about 8:00.

Christmas morning was so wonderful! Mia was SO EXCITED to see if Santa had come. All she wanted was a singing Sleeping Beauty doll, and her little face was so thrilled to see it sitting there on the fire place. We opened all our presents and ate breakfast pizza. My parents came by for a brief time, and we spent the day playing and playing and playing.
The highlights for us:
Chris - I think it was his thin wallet
Mia - the singing Sleeping Beauty, of course - with the princess dress-up shoes a close second place
Coley - his dump truck - he will have to grow into the train table
Me - my earrings from New York - Chris had Megan pick them up for me when she was there :)
That evening, we went to Faye's house to see Tim, Jenn, and Sarah. It was a great day and a great evening. Even better, Cole slept all night in his bed (although not without an hour and a half of crying first - me going up every 15 minutes or so). Since he was finally fever-free, we knew he just had to tough it out.

The next day brought our third Christmas celebration. The Poseys all came over and we opened presents with them.

Cole slept through the opening ceremony, and awakened just in time for lunch of smoked pork tenderloin. Then, he had his own present-opening time.


The highlights for us:
Chris - I am guessing his gift cards
Mia - her Sleeping Beauty barbie
Coley - his much-needed clothes
Me - my gift cards, of course

After all of that was over, all four of us rested for quite awhile. It was an exhausting three days, and we needed some down-time.

All in all, this Christmas has been the best one I have ever had. Mia is at the age where everything is so exciting, and just having Coley here makes it feel complete. I know that this post is lengthy, but it is more for me and my memory. Sorry if I bored anyone! :) I just know that Christmas is supposed to be a time of togetherness and worship for our wonderful God. This year, it was exactly that for the Posey family. I hope that yours was just as remarkable.