have yourself a merry little Christmas
oh, Christmas. love, love, love. and there was nothing "little" about this day. this year seemed extra magical. the day was full and festive. hubby and i woke up extra early and opened presents, just the two of us. some calm before the holly-jolly blizzard. aaaaand...major points for my man! he cut out individual pages of Dickens' Christmas Carol and fashioned them into wrapping paper for my gifts, complete with old fashioned wool ribbon. i was pretty blown away by the creativity and care. what a guy.
after we were all cleaned up and ready for the day {and after miss elinor had stored up plenty of sleep for a long day of celebrating ahead} we woke our little peanut and let her open gifts. we kept things simple since we knew that there would be lots of stimulation and gifting in store... she sweetly opened her gifts from us: something to wear, something to read, something you want, and something you need. she took her time with each one and added in her gleeful "whoooooaaaa!" sounds. delightful.
and then, it was off to the whitehouse home. we gathered for stockings and gifts...and so much yummy food. the best brunch. and between gifts and bites, i only managed to snap one decent pic. #rachelfail but, i might be able to snag a few from he family...
in the afternoon, we made our way over to the ridley home. and although the weather outside was a frightful 74 degrees, we were greeted by a snowball attack from my parents. complete with festive pjs.
we read our annual letter from santa. what a guy. opened our stuffed stockings. and settled in for some serious present opening. after we had our fill, we took a break to enjoy ben's legendary lasagna. so good, i didn't even get a picture. and then, a few more presents and some dessert before calling it a night.
whew. what a day! i am still reeling from the joy and generosity and overall amazingness of our family. God is good. and we are so grateful for His gifts to us. and now, i am off to eat a few more cookies...