We enjoyed a very merry Christmas this year! We missed being with out extended family and wonderful friends, but we loved the peace and quiet of a small family Christmas. The kids were delighted with the magic all around them, and they were thrilled with each little thing that happened. 
Christmas Eve was a grand day, full of cookie baking, stocking stuffing, and general merriment. Jonathan was too excited for his nap, though as you can see he fell asleep on my lap for the first time since he was a tiny baby. Charming! We acted out the Nativity multiple times, as we do every year, and Clara continues to take her responsibilities as Mary very seriously. Jonathan is a little less solemn about being Joseph, which led to some definite sparks flying between our Mary and Joseph. The kids put their stockings out (I made this last month when I realized we hadn't brought our Christmas stockings, thinking we'd be in Utah for the holidays). Then after a reading of The Night Before Christmas, we nestled the children in their beds.
On Christmas morning, Jeremy and I woke up every 30 minutes or so starting at about 4:00 a.m., but the kids actually had a bit of a lie-in and didn't wake up until 7:00. A Christmas miracle! They were truly excited to go downstairs and see the gifts from Santa. And once we'd settled in around the tree, they were most definitely at their leisure. They played contentedly with each present for 20-30 minutes, and when Clara got two sets of undersea life bath toys from Jeremy's sister, they immediately stripped down for a leisurely bath. When we were finally done opening presents, nearly four hours had passed--and they didn't even have that many gifts! It was really a calm, fun morning.
We had a delicious Christmas dinner, and I'm glad I remembered to take pictures so we can always remember out "Tupperware Christmas"--the year we had no nice china or serving dishes and served everything out of pots and plastic containers. Here's the thing, though: it still tasted wonderful! I won't mind having my nice things back for next year, though. :)
All told, it was a magical weekend. How could it not be, when we got to take this to church with us on Sunday:
Merry Christmas!
