Our Christmas Eve started around 2:00 AM when Kaylee woke us up to let us know Brenna had thrown up in her bed. All sorts of fun. She was sick and ornery and whiny and tired all day long. She just wanted her Mommy to hold her, but that's tricky when you've got a 4-month-old baby. And it becomes really hard for Mommy to get anything done. At the end of the day Brenna and Ashlyn went to bed early while Kaylee and Russ went out to drive around and look at Christmas lights. We didn't make any cookies for Santa. We didn't even act out the story of the nativity.
Christmas day began much the same as Christmas Eve - Brenna throwing up in her bed at 4:00 AM. We had told the girls they couldn't wake up to open presents until 6:00 AM, but at 5:00 AM they were all awake (except McKell) so we decided to just go ahead and let them come out. A day that begins so early for everyone is bound to bring on exhaustion and general crankiness later in the day. Brenna was basically the same as she had been the day before. McKell decided to have a particularly fussy day. It was super.
After dinner that night Russ and I were discussing the misery that was our holiday celebration. But then I thought about families in Connecticut whose Christmas was certainly much less enjoyable than mine. And I instantly felt thankful, rather than miserable. Even after a rather awful day, I am so thankful for our four little girls, and thankful that our family was all together to celebrate Christmas this year.
Here are a few pictures we managed to take:
Sick Brenna
New Christmas Pajamas
Opening Presents
Playing with the phone she asked Santa for
Finally exploring the unopened gifts she had dumped in her new shopping cart that morning
Russ and Brenna trying out our new piano
Kaylee and Ashlyn playing on their new Barbie tablets
I am grateful for all of you also. Gratitude puts everything in perspective. Hopefully, your New Year's celebration will be better. All of Nate's family has been ill and is almost better but the rest are now sick with bad colds, sinus infections,sore throats and eye infections here--it has now hit Rafe, Dad, Gran, Linda,Bonnie and Adam--so maybe you don't really want to be here. Although we have missed you.
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