On Christmas Eve, we went to the Ch*sterfield Congregational Church for the 4:00 p.m. family service. The kids put on a pageant about the story of Jesus' birth, which was quite entertaining, I thought. Sarah, on the other hand, was rather disappointed and antsy throughout. I had made the mistake of telling her there would be a "show." The shows she's seen before are S*same Street Live and a stage version of Ang*lina Ballerina, so this didn't measure up. Oops.
After church, Grammy came for dinner, and Don made fisherman's stew, which was heavenly. Sarah opened her gifts from her big sisters and their families, then headed to bed. This was the first year she really understood how Santa works, and she had a hard time getting to sleep. She awoke in the middle of the night, and I ended up sleeping with her so she could get back to sleep.
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| My Christmas Eve princess (she called this her "princess dress") |
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| Sarah and Mom before church (with Cadi sneaking in from the side) |
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| She looks like such a big girl here (maybe it's the small tree)! |
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| Sarah and Grammy waiting for dinner (I think Sarah looks grown up here, as well) |
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| A box full of fun from Emily, Omar, and Sophia |
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| A Hello K*tty game from Rachel and Matt |
We got up around 7:00 on Christmas morning, and Sarah headed right for her stocking. Although Santa had carefully chosen the small gifts inside (and some were rather pricey), her favorite was the hand sanitizer. She was pretty excited about the big box of L*gos, too. She also got a plastic file box with hanging folders, which I thought she'd really like, but it wasn't a hit.
We opened our gifts after breakfast. Her "big" gift from Mom and Dad was a fancy princess dress to play in. She was much more excited about the electric toothbrush (like Mom's), and most thrilled with her
roll of paper towels, however. Not your typical little girl, this one. (Of course, I received an iP*d Mini from my generous husband and refused to open it because I thought it was frivolous, so I guess I shouldn't talk.)
We enjoyed a low-key holiday at our new home. Don cooked a small turkey for the three of us, and we explored the yard a bit after dinner. Grammy stopped by late in the afternoon to see Sarah's gifts.
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| This year's handmade ornament from Grandma was a stunner. |
Our big family celebration was at Grammy's the next day. Sarah was super excited to be with her family, as always. Of course, she got tons more gifts, including D*sney Princess pretend nail polish (it washes off) in five colors in her stocking (Santa visits Grammy's and stuffs stockings for everyone). She also got the toy cash register that she'd asked Grammy for. Wouldn't you know it, it didn't work! We're waiting for the replacement (I think she's forgotten about it, so it will exciting all over again).
When we were done opening gifts, it was time to haul the huge, oak dining table from the front hall to the living room for dinner. This is Don's favorite holiday tradition. ;) It builds an appetite and makes for a cozy family meal (especially for whoever's sitting right in front of the wood stove). Sarah said grace at dinner: "Thank you, God, for being with Mom's family and my family." I couldn't have said it better.
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| Helping Heshy (aka Auntie Heather) open a gift (a photo of the two of them) |
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| Watching Cousin Sam open his present |
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| Painting her nails |
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| Painting Auntie Chelsey's nails (and this was before we knew it washed off!) while Cousin Kelley watches |
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| The whole family (minus the photographer, of course) about to enjoy dinner in the living room (Uncle Brian's got the hot seat) |
Christmas didn't end there, however. The next day, a package arrived from Big Brother Reid -- more L*gos! Sarah just loves them, and she's good at following the diagrams to build things. Maybe she'll be an engineer like her two uncles.
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