Christmas

I trust that you all had a wonderful holiday. I know that we sure did! It was busy, busy, busy, but wonderful nonetheless! Monday (Christmas Eve) was Christmas with my side of the family...my sister Jenn and the girls came up to my parent's house, and we treated the day as if it were Christmas, rather than Christmas Eve. We had breakfast and presents, then lounged around until dinner. So nice! Once dinner was through, our little family headed home to prepare for Santa's big arrival! Luke helped Ty prepare Santa's snack, with a little something for Rudolph as well, and then it was off to bed for a Christmas themed bedtime story and a good night's sleep before the big day.

Christmas Eve has always been so magical for me. As a child, I have many memories of lying in our darkened living room, gazing with awe up at a light-filled Christmas tree, and basking in the anticipation of all those glistening presents delightfully wrapped beneath the branches. Our Christmas Eve was much the same this year, only my anticipation was more focused on my kids rather than gifts wrapped with bows. I was eager to watch Luke open his gifts the following morning, and I delighted in all the magical moments of Christmas....setting out snacks for Santa, telling Luke to listen for reindeer hooves and jingle bells on the roof, turning out the lights at midnight and tiptoeing to bed with a giddy heart at the thought of what our son would find in the morning under the tree. And yes, of-course, lying silently in the darkened living room, relishing in the beauty of our lit Christmas tree with the fireplace crackling behind us. Ahhhhh......how much more beautiful can life get?????

When dawn came, I wasn't surprised to find that I was the first one awake. My eyes popped open at first light and I tiptoed downstairs to get some coffee and make sure that the dog hadn't eaten Santa's cookies! :) When I discovered that she HAD (the plate had been LICKED clean!) I quickly scrambled to replace the half-eaten cookie and crumbs that had been left there by Santa several hours before! A chocolate chip cookie isn't such a bad way to start off a morning, if I do say so myself :) It was followed shortly by a warm cup of coffee....not too shabby of a breakfast in my book! :) Ty was up soon after and we actually got to enjoy our coffee while I fed Ellie. When 7:45 rolled around and Luke was STILL not up, we scooped up Ellie and the video camera and made our way upstairs to wake our sleepyhead. Before we knew it, we were knee-high in wrapping paper and toys were spread all over the family room! :) What a delight it was to watch Luke on Christmas morning! We videoed the whole thing, but I'll just put together a quick montage of photos for ya, I think.

The biggest surprise (for me) of the morning came in the form of a little black velvet box, wrapped in a gold bow. Resting inside was the most beautiful diamond solitaire necklace that I have ever seen!! My husband......oh my sweet husband! I tear up just thinking about this. You see....our 'budget' to spend on one another this year wasn't much. We had decided to keep it pretty simple and to just get some smaller things for one another. But my dear husband decided to nix that plan. He had other things in mind, after all. Let me give you a little background so that you can understand why I cry at the thought of this beautiful diamond hanging 'round my neck....

Ever since we moved into this house, Ty has been planning, designing and working on his garage. Its always been a 'work in progress' since money has been tight. He has dreamed about putting in epoxy flooring, is in the process of building a custom work bench and just has big dreams in general for how he wants his garage to be. It is really important to him....something he talks about all the time. His 'retreat' so to speak. Well...all along, his plan has been that he would sell his dirtbike/motorcycle and use the proceeds(which really isn't much to begin with!) to finish as much of his garage as he could. We always agreed that his 'motorcycle money' was his to spend as he saw fit. It was his 'play money' so to speak, since there isn't a lot of room for extra stuff like a fancy garage with our one-income family. And when he finally found a buyer for his bike a few weeks ago, we were so excited to think that he would be able to finally start in on his 'garage plans'. Seriously friends.....he's talked about this garage ALL THE TIME! He has been so excited about it!!!

But as Christmas approached, my husband thought long and hard about what he wanted to buy me, and our small budget for one another just wouldn't cover it. So, what did he decide to do??? He took his dreams for an awesome garage and sacrificially put them aside in order to purchase a stunning necklace for his wife! He took what meant so much to him and gave it to me! I cry now as I type this. His gesture touched my heart so deeply and it meant the world to me! I didn't need a diamond necklace. And we certainly don't have the extra money to buy me one. But he knew that this diamond would mean so much to me. It is something that I will wear each and every day, just as I wear my wedding band.....for it represents to me my children....my husband...and now, his sacrificial love for me. Isn't he the most amazing man?! In his words, he 'just wanted me to know how much he loves me.' Oh, I most certainly do, Ty.....I most certainly do.

I apologize for being so long-winded today...there is just so much to share! :) But rather than continuing on in words, I will leave you with a montage of our holiday. It's a little lengthy...just to warn you, 'cause I added in a couple of video clips. And please excuse my raspy voice in the videos....I ended up loosing it completely later in the day! Anyhooo...enjoy the montage! :)

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