Christmas '09

So another Christmas has already come and gone, and to be honest...it seems almost forever ago now! It was for sure a Christmas to remember for us, as the snow was crazy and made Christmas a little different this year! It forced us to get on the road for our annual trip to Nebraska a little early, forced both of my families Christmas's to be canceled and it actually ended up being a little more slow and relaxing! We did get time in with Ryan's family, see my mom's side of the family and just get in some quality time there, although there is NEVER enough time when we get there! We have lots of friends we are dying to see....hopefully this spring:)! At Ryan's grandparents on Christmas Eve we had a Swedish feast and the great grandkids did a nativity which was so cute. We played cards and just relaxed at my grandparents and the hang out time was just really fun!

It seemed like the start of the really magical time in our parenting as far as Griffin getting the idea of the whole thing and sweetly referring to Santa as, "ho ho"! I love it, it was so cute! Even now, he talks about HO HO frequently and always acknowledges him when he sees his Geo tracks train set! We went downtown Naperville to see Santa and he did great! Santa had already been to our house at this point, because we celebrated early so Griffin did manage to get out, "el come (thank you) ho ho, chooo chooo!" It was so fun, he was mystified by him! We really felt blessed to be able to celebrate with all the families this year and have some special time on our own too! I will just put the pics into a slide show, there are too many:)! It was a really wonderful time with Griff, with family and time to just reflect on the great gifts that God has let flood our lives...we are so thankful and humbled every time we stop and think about it!