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In Which We HAVE a Merry Christmas!

Christmas this year was a blast! I'll go ahead and say it...it was the best Christmas of 2012!! ;0)

First, we all ended up sick, except for Mom, though I promise we tried our hardest to infect her! Madi and Grayson both ended up with a stomach virus that gave them round the clock bouts of diarrhea (this also gave Madi a very angry diaper rash!), on and off fevers over the course of a few days, and all around crankiness. Brooklyn, Ray, and I now have head colds.  Even so, we've had fun. 

Brooklyn and Ray sang in the Christmas Eve service, which was so beautiful! I think the Christmas Eve service may be my favorite service of the year. We came together and we worshiped. We glorified the Lord in song and readings. It was loud and a little chaotic and people kept shuffling little ones and in and out (because their little bodies can only handle so much!), but we were all together for that one beautiful purpose. To acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. The evening started and my soul settled into my chest with a sigh of relief and said, "Yes. This is it. This is why.". 

We had Apps & Zerts at Jenna and Brett's. The hot chocolate had the consistency of tomato soup, and the no bake peanut butter cookies just melted in your mouth! Mom gave us all an ornament to commemorate the year. We rushed the kids home to get them to bed (they were getting to meltdown mode). The babies went out quickly, Brooklyn set out the milk and cookies for Santa (and the carrots for his reindeer), and once she was in bed, Ray and I set about making the magic of Christmas real. It was midnight when we finally got to bed, and naturally, Madi woke up. ;0)

Christmas morning was great. We had agreed to keep the kids upstairs until 8 am so Jenna, Brett, and Jeffrey would have time to get to the house in the morning. Brooklyn woke about 7:45 (barking with her new cough). We read the Christmas story and then brought her down to see what Santa had brought. 

After that, the day was just relaxing. We had breakfast, opened presents, played games, and ate a nice meal, which we later decided we could really do without. Grayson was totally overwhelmed and even more so because he was not feeling well. Even so, he thoroughly enjoyed his new toys (and Brooklyn's!) Brooklyn was enthralled by everything, and Madi was a chatterbox the whole morning! 

The next day, Madi had her six month check up, and we planned to leave that afternoon for a few days with our Texas family. At the last minute, we canceled the trip due to everyone's health. We spent the day instead making new homes for all the new toys. 

The next few days should be relaxing. I'm looking forward to it.

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