A Merry Little Christmas!

We had a really nice Christmas, and hope all who are reading this did too! As I mentioned before, this was really our first Christmas we've just spent as a family on the home front. Jon has had such bad luck flying across the country in the wintertime throughout the last few years that he made me promise we could just spend the holidays at home without the stress and expense of traveling.

Lucy and Zach patiently waited all 24 days of December for the last and final piece of the nativity: Baby Jesus! They were both so excited to open it that we had to do it twice so they each got a turn pulling him out of the pocket.

Since it is Jonathan's "year" for Christmas he got to decide what traditions we would do to celebrate, and we had hoped his parents would be able to join us from Washington, but due to some conflicts with work and other things, they weren't able to come. So, we tried to do our best at recreating their traditional "Holy Supper" which is probably Jon's all-time favorite Christmas tradition. We watched the "Nativity Story" right before so Lucy could understand better what they dressed like and where they lived and what they ate. We had a simple meal of fish, cheese, flat bread, hummus, and grape juice-- the foods Joseph and Mary would have eaten back then. It's always a really special feeling to turn out the lights and by candlelight eat dinner, sing Christmas carols, and read Matthew 2. After dinner we wrote our letters for Santa, left out some cookies and milk, and then it was off to bed (but 6+ hours of putting together toys for Jonathan)!!


Bright and early the kids woke up and we let them head downstairs to see if Santa had come. Lucy was ECSTATIC to get her Ariel talking salon, a toy dog (sorry, not a real one per her request!), Tea Cup piggies, and a princess scooter, plus lots of other fun stuff.


Zachary got his very own car to scoot around in, and a huge dump truck and lots of other fun cars and trucks and Toy Story toys.

But the pies de resistance was their new TRAMPOLINE!!! They LOVE jumping on it, and with the 60 degree weather we're enjoying, why not? It's the perfect size too-- low to the ground so they can climb on and off, it has the safety netting so they can't fall off, and it fits right under our patio so it will be shaded in the summer.

Christmas breakfast of cinnamon twists, deviled egg casserole, sausages, and hot chocolate. Jon's favorite!

Basking in the afterglow of being terribly spoiled by Santa and grandmas and grandpas. THANKS!!

I worried we would get bored Christmas day and need to go see a movie or something, but the kids played ALL day with their toys and out jumping on the tramp, and by Christmas dinner they were still happy campers.

Playing with what has ended up being Zachy's new favorite toy.:) Both these kids are desperate for a dog and I don't know how to break it to them that it aint gonna happen anytime soon....

Ready for bed in their new PJs!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE CARDONS!!