"Christmas" morning

We decided to open our little family's gifts early this year rather than taking them down to Illinois with us for Christmas morning. Less stuff to pack and then bring back up! Rob and I put the presents under the tree and in the stockings after the boys were asleep last night (which was about an hour after they went to bed...crazy kids!)

This morning, Matthew woke up first and was surprised to find the gate locked at the top of the stairs. He has this morning ritual of going downstairs to turn on all of the Christmas lights before we all get up and we wanted him to wait today, since there were presents to be ripped into. Rob got up and went downstairs to light the tree while I changed Ben and then we all went down the stairs, pausing mid-way to grab our stockings off the railing. Matthew was so excited to see his candy cane full of Sweetarts that he dropped his stocking and didn't dig further for the Hot Wheels fruit snacks. Ben was also far more excited about his candy cane full of M&M's (I don't think he ever found the fruit snacks!) Rob and I had given each other our favorite candy (his was dark chocolate Rocher and mine was carmel-filled Ghiradelli squares...yummy!) We then sat down to pass out presents.

Rob passed out the presents, beginning with the youngest. Ben received a large, spinning top which he has already cracked. (I think the Litwiller theme this next year will be stewardship....all four of us need the lesson!) He also got a bag of Mega Blocks. So far he has played with the cards inside, the bag they came in, and he might have built one little thing. Typical kid! Matthew got school supplies. I know, it sounds like a goofy gift, but he was thrilled. He's been begging me for his own scissors, so I got him some, along with pencils, a sharpener, a writing tablet with lines, and glue sticks. It comes with a promise that he and I will do more schooltime together. He put it all in his backpack and has been carrying it around the house all morning, pausing to cut up tons of scrap paper (thank you, Grandma Litwiller, for all that paper!!) He also got the game Hungry, Hungry Hippos. It's a perfect little boy game. It's loud, crazy, and doesn't require parental prompting to play it right. He even plays it by himself, feeding the hippos. The orange one gets fed more often, as that is his favorite color.

Rob and I were just going to do stocking stuffers this year because we couldn't come up with anything either of us really wanted. I got him some Coke bottles from Wal-Mart that are replicas of the 1899 bottles to add to his bottle collection, along with some fun chips. I tried to find Planters Cheese Balls, but I think they stopped making them. He got me a huge box of Hershey's Pot of Gold (eating chocolate while pregnant makes for happier babies, you know!) and a blender! Not exactly a stocking stuffer, but he said he was making up for my birthday :)

We had a nice breakfast together and played with the kids until Rob went to work. Just before he left, he asked me if we gave the kids their new video. Yikes! I had forgotten all about it! We bought the Little Einstein's movie way back in July and had saved it for Christmas. I pulled it out and the kids had fun watching it and playing with their toys.

We got a nice family surprise this afternoon. After the children were in bed (and with Mega Blocks and bits of cut paper scattered all over the floor) some strangers knocked on our door. A man, his wife, and two girls explained that they were from a church in Wisconsin and every year, they call up Maranatha and find out who some of the "non-traditional" students are. Their church takes up a collection and brings these students presents. They brought in two tubs, a box, and a bag full of food, kleenex, wrapped presents, and all kinds of stuff. There was even some money and a couple of gift cards! Praise the Lord! I'm still pretty floored by their generosity and that a church would remember married college students. What a wonderful surprise.

Tomorrow we take off for Illinois to visit with our families. We're looking forward to seeing everyone again. I have all of the presents made, the cookies baked, but I haven't even opened my green and red paper to attempt making cards yet. I usually make cards during naptime so that two little boys don't "help" too much, but I've been napping myself recently. I'm just too tired otherwise. So, the cards won't get done this year, which is too bad, but maybe I can start early for next year :)

If I don't post again before Tuesday, Merry Christmas to all of you who read this blog. May your season be filled with love, laughter, joy.