We enjoyed our first Christmas in our new home in Kentucky!
With a new home, I wanted to start a new tradition. On Christmas Eve, I wrapped a gift box for Rydan and Lily that was filled with new pajamas, a Christmas movie (Fred Claus), movie snacks, and hot chocolate. That afternoon, I wrote “Open on Christmas Eve” on the box, and placed it underneath the tree. It literally was a matter of minutes before the kids noticed it. We all enjoyed an evening of eating Whoppers, Junior Mints, Reeses Pieces, Goldfish and Grandma Wiest’s Chex Mix while watching the movie.
Afterwards, it was off to bed, which was tougher for Lily than Rydan, and not because she was too excited about Santa coming. “What if Santa comes into my bedroom, Mommy? I don’t want him in my bedroom. Or what if he says Ho, Ho, Ho and it scares my ears?” Getting her to fall asleep was not an easy task, but eventually I convinced her that Santa doesn’t want to be seen or heard.
It was about 7:15am Christmas morning when Lily opened her door and said “Mommy! Oh. My. Gosh. Santa did come! And he never came into my room or said Ho, Ho, Ho!“
After opening all of their gifts from underneath the tree, Rydan and Lily each had one more surprise. Rydan’s was sitting outside of his room, and Lily’s was set up in her play room. These surprises were extra special hand-made gifts from my dad (aka “Papoose”). My dad is amazingly gifted when it comes to wood-working, and he created beautiful treasures for the kids to enjoy for years to come.
That evening, we had some fun with a gift that I gave to Ryan… a funnel cake maker. Ryan loves funnel cakes, but as a diabetic, he never really indulged in more than just a few bites. Now with his diabetic lifestyle in the past, he can enjoy all the funnel cake he wants.
Since Christmas Day, we’ve been doing a lot of karaoke-ing and pogo sticking. Thanks to Lily, we have Taylor Swift’s new 1989 album almost memorized. When he isn’t singing and dancing with Lily, Rydan is trying to beat my record on the pogo stick… 211 bounces. Good luck, buddy!
We hope all of our readers had a very Merry Christmas, and we wish you a new year that is filled with lots of happiness, memorable moments, and time spent with the ones you love. Cherish every day of 2015!
