Christmas Day

Frank and I went to bed early Christmas morning and woke up to little whispers upstairs a few hours later. We quickly got out of bed and each grabbed a camera.

Gavin got his wish and we now have a new member of the family. A pet RAT. Yep, Santa caved and gave in to his request. And I must admit we are all falling in love with her. When Gavin first saw her he was so excited that it was the one he had seen in the store with the deformed ear. And he looked at us and said, "I already got everything I wanted for Christmas" and he hadn't opened any presents yet. She is so sweet so far. You get over the tail pretty quickly. Gavin also got an acoustic electric guitar and Madden 11. Ellie's big gifts were a Nintendo DSI XL and a barbie doll house. And Hads got an American Girl Doll with accessories and a leapster explorer. Santa spoiled them.

We then went to my parents house to celebrate with the Carpenter side and they were spoiled rotten again over there. My parents made an amazing prime rib dinner and we ate a ton of food and just relaxed enjoying Christmas. It was great to see both of my parents feeling well. It is the best my dad has looked in months and my mom is recovering well from her kidney stone surgery last week. My parents gave me a James Avery bracelet and on it is the bible verse, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I started crying when I got it. I had that verse posted on the wall when giving birth to each of my kiddos, and held on to it tightly as I went through the last few months.

We had a great Christmas. I kept reminding the kiddos why we give presents and that Jesus was our greatest gift. I really didn't want them to loose sight of that. We ended the night playing with our toys and then strumming Gav's new guitar as we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. It is hard to believe Christmas has already come and gone, but it was definitely a good one with great memories.