Christmas Has Left the Building [almost]

We had a wonderful family Christmas, including [but not limited to] the Christmas Eve buffet [with more food than any 12 people could ever begin to take down], the famous Mason pajama race [Natalie won the race for the adults, for the first time ever, and the childrens' race was won by Ben!] and of course listening to the Christmas story and singing songs together.

Christmas morning was wonderful. It was great just watching the faces of the children and the adults as everyone realized [through the thoughtful gifts they received] just how much they are loved. A sad/happy part for me was when Mason finished opening his last gift and totally broke down: "I want to open more presents!" -- it was the saddest yet funniest thing I've seen in a long time. Christmas really is for the children.

We did fun things together: played some in-home laser tag, we bowled, we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows over a campfire at a small-town trail of lights [and loved it - -this will be a regular Christmas event from now on] and we hung out at home, talking and spending time together. We watched the cousins enjoy each other and we shared time and feelings with each other.

I don't think I ever remember seeing as much trash and recycling build up in such a short time! Today is trash and recycling day and we still have trash bags in the back yard as well as recycling sitting in the house because the [huge] bins were both full. Someday we'll catch up, I'm sure of it!

I remember reading a bumper sticker that said something along the lines of this: "A cluttered desk is the sign of a creative mind" -- and if that's true, my house must be the home of a genius.

Not.

*[picture: not my house, we have much more trash than that!! Via flickr]