Today was one of those rare and magical white Christmases that the South so seldom sees! It was wonderful to share in the joy of Jesus' birth and Santa's arrival at home together. The girls were surprised to awake and find a real Tanzanian basket (and doll) that Santa left as a "thank you" for allowing another child to ride his sleigh. Then it was time for the traditional picture at the top of teh stairs, ... in honor of my friend Karin who did this every year with her children. Then it was time for toys! Bikes, punching-balls, and even a tiny bunny tea set! And one of the first gifts the girls opened was their big box of packing peanuts. It was fun for a while, ... but it wasn't long until those packing peanuts turned into tiny pieces of styrofoam snow, ... and for the next dozen pictures you'll notice it all over their hair, the toys, and everything! With the potenital of ruining our day, we banished the kids to our bedroom playing with any toys we could clean off first (like the calico critter houses that remained unblemished), ... and we began sweeping, cleaning, and vaccuming. It took about an hour to get it all cleaned up. Then it was time to resume. There always seems to be a "surprise" present that shocks us, ... and this year it was the light-up "mesmerizer" that made me think SO much of the little toy that the girls had when they were babies. The other shocker was somthing called a "candy tacklebox" which just contained tiny compartments of different little candies. The kids LOVED it, I think because it offered such a choice. It's also a special moment when I give the girls a toy I loved when I was a child, and this year I gave Annie the very special "Sunshine Family" while Leia got my Monchichi, Eskimo, and Ginny dolls.
Today was one of those rare and magical white Christmases that the South so seldom sees! It was wonderful to share in the joy of Jesus' birth and Santa's arrival at home together. The girls were surprised to awake and find a real Tanzanian basket (and doll) that Santa left as a "thank you" for allowing another child to ride his sleigh. Then it was time for the traditional picture at the top of teh stairs, ... in honor of my friend Karin who did this every year with her children. Then it was time for toys! Bikes, punching-balls, and even a tiny bunny tea set! And one of the first gifts the girls opened was their big box of packing peanuts. It was fun for a while, ... but it wasn't long until those packing peanuts turned into tiny pieces of styrofoam snow, ... and for the next dozen pictures you'll notice it all over their hair, the toys, and everything! With the potenital of ruining our day, we banished the kids to our bedroom playing with any toys we could clean off first (like the calico critter houses that remained unblemished), ... and we began sweeping, cleaning, and vaccuming. It took about an hour to get it all cleaned up. Then it was time to resume. There always seems to be a "surprise" present that shocks us, ... and this year it was the light-up "mesmerizer" that made me think SO much of the little toy that the girls had when they were babies. The other shocker was somthing called a "candy tacklebox" which just contained tiny compartments of different little candies. The kids LOVED it, I think because it offered such a choice. It's also a special moment when I give the girls a toy I loved when I was a child, and this year I gave Annie the very special "Sunshine Family" while Leia got my Monchichi, Eskimo, and Ginny dolls. 
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