MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Well, Christmas was eventful, to say the least. We've discovered that despite all attempts to balance what we think the boys will love.....come Christmas morning, what they'll really want is whatever brother got and is trying to play with. Things came to near blows and I am in awe. Tanner only wants his presents if Hunter does (he wants anything Hunter has) and Hunter, well, he's not too fond of sharing.....even when the toys actually belong to Tanner. So.....we're working on that today.....it's an adventure. No bruises yet, so I think I'm making progress.

Anyway, we had Christmas Eve dinner at Kyle's sister, Aricka's house with his Dad. The boys sure love playing with Tailor. He had enough trucks and tractors to keep them occupied for hours. Tailor got a Wii for Christmas and so Kyle and I got to try our hands at that. We bowled. We tied for second place......aka, Aricka killed us both.:) Anyhow, dinner was good and the boys were passed out in the Jeep before we ever made it home.This made for an interesting time trying to get them to open their Christmas Eve pajamas. My family has a tradition where every Christmas Eve we open a present......and it's always pajamas. So, we've carried on with that. Well, I figured the boys would wake up when I put their diapers on for bed and problem solved, but OH NO!! Hunter was "awake," but delirious. I'm convinced there was no comprehension. Tanner barely glanced at me. We tried to get him to open his and he just started swatting the present......and then his pajamas, which I ended up opening. Well, so they were wearing them. What else can I say? And try to ignore the fact that they're both in nothing BUT diapers when opening. It's the best we could do. Ignore my double chin, please. I told you all I'd get one.
Oh, and Christmas Eve side note. Someone dumped a cat off here. Jake tried to get rid of it and it came back. Well, Christmas Eve I'm carrying Hunter into the house while Kyle is shoveling the walk and the stupid thing runs into the house!! (Have I mentioned I hate cats.....like more than I hate dogs and other pets?) Anyway, Kyle gets it out of our entry way (trying not to touch it in case it's diseased). I go back out to the Jeep to get Tanner who's also asleep, so not moving very quickly. The stupid, little beast jumped into our Jeep (despite all of my efforts to kick it away while untangling Tanner from his seatbelt). Anyway, it jumped up into Hunter's empty carseat, meowing the whole time about I don't know what. So I yelled to Kyle who grabbed gloves and got the dang thing. Anyway, we had to try and outsmart this little devil while unloading the Jeep and as it turns out, we're not much smarter than cats. Sad. Anyway, it ONLY meowed at our door the entire night, so I'm barely bitter. It seems to have disappeared so I'll have to ask Jake if he was successful or something. I HATE CATS!!!

Well, the boys remained passed out until 8:30 Christmas morning, which was nice, except for the fact that I was pretty much awake all night anyway (thanks to the cat and my hips.....I was NEVER in this much pain when pregnant with my boys, but I can't even roll over without wincing with this one......and I'm starting to do worse than waddle, so the next couple of months should be a real treat). Anyway, opening presents was fun. Christmas is just so much fun with kids (except for detaching toys from their packaging, which has to be the most evil thing I've ever experienced......who comes up with that stuff? A word to the wise: If you're going to shoplift ANY toy, just steal it in the packaging or you'll never make it out. Just saying).

The boys were so excited and loved the entire day. Hunter did weasel a hunting call as a gift from Kyle's sister and the non-existent chainsaw seems to have been forgotten. Tanner was very jealous of Hunter's hunting call (the distressed rabbit......which is death to the ears, P.S.) and so his "sweet" Daddy gave him his (with the promise of replacement of something of equal or GREATER value, of course). So, both of my boys were blowing the distressed rabbit call and appeared to be in heaven (which is where I'll end up if I have to listen to that for 5 more minutes). Then Kyle starts in with his new coyote call and it was practically a chorus. Thank goodness Jake and Hannah were gone for the time being......I would've had to send an apology note upstairs......with a promise that if it didn't stop, we'd move. Anyway, all jokes aside, I love this time of year. I love the spirit of Christmas. I love the lights and the baking, and the general merriment. We are grateful for the gift of the Savior (and delighted that Hunter is learning that Christmas is Jesus' Birthday and not just about presents). We're grateful for the gift of knowing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. We're grateful for the spirit that that knowledge brings into our homes and communities. We hope you all had a joyful holiday season filled with sweet memories with family and friends.