Christmas Festivities, Part I

With the windchill this morning approaching 50 degree below zero (no joke), it has been a bit hard to make my numb fingers type this morning.  But today, of all days, I am grateful that my furnace died a little over a month ago during a cold snap that I now understand to have been balmy in comparison.  The large sum of money we shelled out to replace it was little cost to sleep well last night knowing that the house would be safe and warm this morning.

This winter has been exceptionally rough; lots of ice and snow pelted us a couple of days before Christmas, and the brutally cold temperatures have kept the blanket of white from melting even on the days that dare rise above freezing.

We did have a beautiful Christmas, however, and since I was unable to share it with you at the time, let's do a brief recap, shall we?  After all, this blog serves as something of a virtual scrapbook for my family, a place where I can edit the truth to say "my children looked so angelic performing in the church Christmas Pageant" rather than "I had to practically drag Cael onto the stage and nearly drag Graham off of it". 

 

It just doesn't have the same poetic ring.

Christmas Eve was a similar affair, with Graham rearing to go to church as it symbolized another step closer to Santa's arrival and the overindulgence that he knew would occur.  But Cael, being Cael, was feeling stubborn and didn't want to leave our warm house when it was, shock of shocks, snowing outside.

But after the Christmas Eve service, both boys knew it was time to open their one designated present, which despite always being pajamas, we feel we must pretend we don't know about in the interest of preserving the magic of Christmas.  In the end, there was no need for lies or shiny wrapping paper to get them excited, because it only took one brief glance at their pajamas for them to bounce up and down in joy. 

Butt flaps do that to a kid on Christmas Eve.

So we tucked them in with kisses and whispers of Santa, and hoped against all hope that they could open that flap during the night if the need arose.  There are only so many surprises meant for Christmas morning...