2plus5clan: Christmas 2009

So how many months do we plan and prepare for Christmas? How many times do we tell the Christmas story to the children and grandchildren so they know the true meaning of Christmas? How many times do we shake our heads saddened by the news of constant attacks by those who do not want to celebrate Christmas and feel neither should we! Yet with all of this activity and hustle and bustle we find ourselves finally sitting around the Christmas tree, some of us are tired from putting the last presents out after the children fall asleep. Others are just tired from playing games with family late into the night. Perhaps a few just can't believe we are getting up before 8am to open presents. No matter how we come to this moment, here we are, sitting waiting for the Mom or Grammy to say "This is how we are doing it this year!" Amazingly the children who have been looking at the ever growing presents that seem to show up day after day under the tree, sit still! Even the littlest child is watching and learning from the older children on how this process works. Then suddenly an adult grabs the first present and says who it is for. Excitement fills the childrens faces as they finally get one of the presents they have been looking and poking at for at least a week! Parents and others sit and warmly smile as they watch the children excitedly rip into each present! They giggle or laugh as they see a child do a funny war like dance as they get some expected or unexpected toy or gift! What seems like a slow process each present is passed out and opened. The excitement slowly ebbs and the cleanup continues from ripped open packages and boxes. Then as the children run off to thier rooms to put new toys away someone looks at their watch or the clock on the wall and they realize all of these presents were opened and touched within an hour or so. All of that planning and purchasing is over in a few shourt minutes! Yet we will do it again, next year! Now comes the decision which parent can sneek back into bed for a few more hours of sleep. While the other "Dads!" lay on the floor and play with the child and thier new toy or video game. Amazingly most Moms are okay with Dads playing video games on Christmas day, as long as they get to go back to bed! Later the Christmas dinner is prepared and we over eat for the second time in two months and tell ourselves we will do better next year!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year, Mamaw came for Christmas! She visited Ricky and Bart during the first part of the month and really enjoyed herself. We also had a huge suprise when Roger Jr, Alyssa and Madison and Little Roger showed up on Wednesday night from Texas! What a wonderful surprise! We sorely missed Micah who had to stay in Wyoming to keep working on the railroad and Leo wh was visiting his dad in Kansas City. Maybe one day we will have them all for Christmas!