So this Christmas was by far the best of my adult life. I think Sam would agree the same for himself. The night before Christmas, the kids and I went to my Grandma Green's house for the Green family Christmas. As per usual, the treats were delicious as always and the kids all had a dizzyingly and deafeningly great time. Sam had to work on this night. When we got home, Patrick put out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. I stayed up most of the night and cleaned the house and helped Santa get all of his gifts arranged. On this night, I could not get to sleep. I was so excited for the kids to get up in the morning. I woke up very early and was, for once, just waiting for Patrick to hurry up and wake up.When Sam came home, I asked if he'd seen the cookie crumbs and carrot top that Santa and crew left. 
He thought it was odd that I'd cleaned the whole house, but left out one plate with crumbs, so he washed the plate and put it away! No worries, after a good laugh about it all, we found more crumbs and carrot tops for display in the morning.
He thought it was odd that I'd cleaned the whole house, but left out one plate with crumbs, so he washed the plate and put it away! No worries, after a good laugh about it all, we found more crumbs and carrot tops for display in the morning.So finally, Patrick got up and saw the bicycle Santa left him. He calls it his "Woody Bike" because it's got Toy Story characters on it. We've got video of it and I promise to post it so
on. Eva and Patrick had a great time on this morning. Many folks came for breakfast for my mom's famous Christmas casserole. Let me not forget the perfectly timed snow that fell on Christmas morning. Everyone left and Sam went to bed for a few hours of hard earned sleep while the kids and I played the day away in our pj's. It was great to not worry about the huge mess the house had become since the aforementioned cleaning the night prior and just enjoy my kids without worrying about my email, cell phone, clients, laundry, or the clock, etc.
on. Eva and Patrick had a great time on this morning. Many folks came for breakfast for my mom's famous Christmas casserole. Let me not forget the perfectly timed snow that fell on Christmas morning. Everyone left and Sam went to bed for a few hours of hard earned sleep while the kids and I played the day away in our pj's. It was great to not worry about the huge mess the house had become since the aforementioned cleaning the night prior and just enjoy my kids without worrying about my email, cell phone, clients, laundry, or the clock, etc.In the evening, we went to Tom and Gwen's to celebrate the holiday with that part of our family. Again, more very tasty food and much fun visiting with everyone. My children are so lucky to have so many that love them and got to open lots of great clothes and toys.
For the next two days, I stayed home and served as the resident toy and clothes manager. Our home has finally been released from the grips of Father Christmas. We've still got the tree and decorations up, but the toys have been handled. Finally.
In the end, while I've never worked so hard over a holiday, this was a magical Christmas for us. It was the first year Patrick really got excited and participated. Also, Eva got to dress up this year for many occasions and was just beautiful and so sweet. I am grateful for this time with my family.
Click Here for photos of Hooligans at Christmas.
Click Here for photos of the last several weeks pre-Christmas
So yesterday Eva helped me snap green beans. By "help" I mean she removed already snapped beans, took a bite from the middle and released them back into the wild (the floor). However, since she was having such fun with the green beans, I snapped a few photos to share with you all.
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