Happy Merry Christmas!

Christmas Day was a success at the Smith residence! The kids loved their gifts, and so did mommy and daddy! The girls were so excited last night to prepare for Santa, I think they tuckered themselves out! The first thing Laila and Kenadi wanted to do was sprinkle the reindeer food out front, to ensure Santa would not miss our house! The oatmeal and glitter was a huge success, the girls thought it was the greatest thing ever! Since we have no snow, we sprinkled it in the street, up the driveway and in front of the house, a nice trail for them to snack on as they made their way to the house. We also made sure to put a napkin, a cookie, and milk out for Santa, along with a carrot for Rudolph.

I was done wrapping gifts and had everything under the tree by 11pm, but my anticipation kept me up much later than I planned. Thankfully, my children like to sleep almost as much as I do! They didn't wake me up until sometime after 8:30 am and were very well behaved as we waited for Daddy to join us. We decided to let little Dustin Jr. sleep in while the girls tore into their presents. What a great decision that was! Everyone was able to enjoy the spot light for a few minutes and no one had to stop and feed a baby! The girls both wanted a pillow pet, and they found them sitting under the tree this morning! How exciting!! Laila asked for a unicorn, Kenadi a monkey. They are snugglign with them now.

Each one of our kids get a "big ticket" item, and the rest is just fillers. Laila's big gift this year was a 2G pink ipod. I argued that one tooth and nail, but she still got it. I think she's a little young, but she seems to love it. So much so that I had to pry the headphones out of her ears to get her to answer me for the rest of the day!

Kenadi has been pining after my camera for quite some time, so when she opened her kid-friendly digital camera, she was tickled pink! She has been taking crotch and butt pictures all day! I will have to go through and check it out, the world from her point of view goes unnoticed so often, it will be a treat to see what life looks like from 3ft tall for a day!

Last but not least, little man! He really seemed to enjoy his first Christmas, though he realized very early on the wrapping paper is inedible. That didn't stop him from trying by any means! He seemed to enjoy his gifts, his favorite being the snail he could see himself in. He likes looking at himself, I wonder where he gets that from! Everything was wrapped nice and loose, so he was able to unwrap just about everything himself.

This Christmas has topped them all for me! Dustin really outdid anything I ever expected. Things in the past haven't always been the best come Christmastime, whenever we're in a pinch, I'm first to give things up, even if it means gifts on Christmas morning. I joked with Dustin that he bought me one awesome gift for each Christmas we've spent together to make up for lost time! I am still astonished by the thought and time he spent on each gift, and he even wrapped everything himself!

Dustin didn't do so shabby either, though I don't have the photos to prove it! He scored Madden 11 for his PS3, and the wireless headset to go along with it. Rest assured, he wasted no time testing that out before leaving for work this afternoon! He also received a few movies, a book, and jammies.

We are so fortunate to be able to celebrate Christmas this way, sharing gifts among each other in a warm home with wonderful company. God has truly blessed us with the health of our 3 children, and each other. Dustin and I hope everyone has had a spendid day, and many more will follow.