Christmas! Gifts Galore!

Emma wonders when the snow will ever end...

Here's a video of Eden and Emma having a great time in the snow. The snowfall that came down in Salem was the most its ever been in 40 years. As thankful as we were for the fluffy stuff to be around, we were more thankful when it finally started melting the day after Christmas. No more tire chains, no more icy roads and no more crunchy gravel!

We praise God that Paw and Lara made it up safely on Sunday, the 21st. They drove up from the Bay Area during one of the worst snow storms in Oregon. They took their time and came up here without much of a problem.

Christmas Eve was a blast! The roads were clear enough that we were able to get a Christmas tree for the house. Emma didn't really understand why there was a giant tree in the house, but she went along with it anyway. We trimmed it with lights and ornaments. Some of the favorites for the girls were a giant crab (this one Emma likened to Mr. Krabs), and a Mr. Hanky the Christmas Poo from South Park (Lara gave this to Paw this year for one of his stocking stuffers). Christmas Eve dinner consisted of homemade crabcakes and clam chowder. I had a grilled cheese sandwich. :) After dinner we started putting gifts under the tree. The cutest thing was watching Emma as we put the gifts down under the tree. She thought each and every one of the gifts was for her! She kept saying, Mine? Mine?, like those seagulls from "Finding Nemo". Below is a video of Emma playing with one of the boxes we received that was full of gifts. Take a look at the box and you can almost make out who gave us that box!

After putting the gifts under the tree, we opened stockings and put on our annual Christmas pajamas! Once we were all comfy and cozy in our new pajamas, it was Paw's turn for the tradition of reading, The Night Before Christmas. We got the PG version this time, since Emma was listening this time.

After the story, it was bedtime for the girls! Off they went to sleep, and wake up to...

CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!

Emma may not understand the whole concept behind Christmas, but she definitely understands how to open gifts! She had a blast opening up her own gifts, and even helped everyone else open theirs as well. One of Emma's gifts was a Spongebob and Detective Emma book that my sister gave her. On every page is a picture of Emma fighting crime with Spongebob! It was a great gift. Thank you Tita! She also received a wonderful dollhouse from her Grandma and Grandpaw! Every morning she wakes up to it and says, "House!", and immediately wants to play with it.

Once the Christmas gifts were all opened, and the mess cleaned up and put away, it was time to go to Grandma Belle's house for Christmas dinner! We had a beautiful spread that consisted of prime rib, eggplant parmigiana, twice-baked potatoes, peas, and cranberry-jello salad! To top it all off, homemade PUMPKIN PIE for dessert! YUM!

On a slight sad note, Joy went in for her 3-hour glucose test Christmas Eve, and we got the results on the 26th. She came in high on all three tests which means she does have gestational diabetes. While it's not a terribly huge surprise, we were just hoping that it wouldn't happen this time. We just ask that you continue to pray for Joy and the baby and for everyone as we get through this one last time.

Thank you so much to everyone for all of the wonderful gifts that we received. We loved all of them very much. We are so very fortunate of the family that we have, and we praise God for each and every one of them. Thank you again for reading!