Christmas 2012

Saturday, December 22nd

Christmas came early this year. 

In our notes to Santa we asked him to kindly bring our presents on the 22nd so we could meet our Scott family in California for a family Christmas cruise.  Santa obliged.  

Our Christmas Eve was filled with all the anticipation and excitement that December 24th would have held.  Ethan warned that he was too excited to sleep.  I reminded him that Santa doesn't come until everyone is asleep. 

Our stockings were hung by the chimney with care.  

 We put out cookies and carrots for Santa, 

and some how the kids managed to fall asleep.

When the morning came they couldn't wait to see what Santa had brought.

Luckily, Santa did not disappoint.

Nataleigh got two school desks and lots of school supplies.

 Ethan got the hammock he wanted and a cool lego set.

 Jacob got a kitchen that Santa had been saving for years.  

(Sometimes sisters grow out of presents before they get them.)

  It's a good thing Jacob loves to play kitchen!

There were other fun presents like Ethan's remote control helicopter and Nerf guns for all three.  

(Great.  MORE bullets to clean up off the floor.  What were we thinking???)

Nataleigh adored her desk and school supplies and the special school bell made for "Miss Nataleigh".

Ready or not, school is in session!

But the most important presents were the ones given from the heart.  

Nataleigh spent all her money on presents for other people and didn't have anything left for Dad.  She did find a sweater on-line that she wanted to buy him, so she wrote him this great card explaining,

"Dear Dad, 

Sorry I don't have a present for you.  

I have your present on the computer 

so your present will come after Christmas. 

 Is that ok? 

I'll give it to you write [right] when I get it.  

Merry Christmas!!!!!! 

Love, Belle

Apparently, Ethan had a hard time deciding on a gift for me.  David told him what I really wanted was a nice card.  So he made me a beautiful card, and wrote the most heart-warming poem inside:

"Dear Mom,

You are the best,

You're better than the rest.

I have so many wishes,

That are granted with your kisses.

I love your cooking,

Especially when I can tell what it is

Without even looking.

I love when we snug,

And sometimes a little hug.

I love you Mom,

And I hope you do too.

This poem is from me to you.

Merry Christmas Mom!

Love your son,

Ethan" 

It honestly doesn't get any better than that.

But, the giving kept going. 

Remember that on the top of Jacob's Christmas list was a guitar.  Ethan and Nataleigh really wanted to make that dream a reality.  They knew a real guitar was out of their budget, and they even brainstormed about getting Jacob a ukulele instead. Then one night while they were shopping with David they found the perfect solution. A Disney/Pixar "Cars" guitar!  Could it be? Ethan and Nataleigh both donated $20 to the cause.  I can't tell you how excited they were to give it to him. 

Jacob was thrilled. 

 He played that guitar. And played, and played, and played it.

He hardly put it down.  

It was such a sweet scene.

Then, as the present wrapping was coming to an end, Ethan gave Nataleigh the gift he had been working on for months. 

In October Ethan told me he wanted to make a blanket for Nataleigh.  

I knew it would be a daunting task, but how could I say no? Thankfully, we got a lot of advice and help on how to construct it.  

First, Ethan sent every Scott family member a blank square and told them to write one word that they felt described Nataleigh. With siblings in seven different cities, it was quite the task.  We mailed the packets, they wrote their words, and returned the squares.  

David then spent hours sorting through photos and finding a photo of each family member with Nataleigh.  The photos spanned the 8 years of her life--starting with a picture of Uncle Tyson holding Nataleigh in the hospital the day she was born.  It took hours to find and format each picture. 

This was truly a gift of love.  

We owe a huge thanks to Monica Lamb who gave us the vision for what the quilt could be.  Who knew she had a degree in Home Economics with a speciality in Textiles??  She helped us select the fabric, organize the pattern, sew the pictures on to the word squares, and even found a friend to quilt it all together.  Monica finished the edged and mailed it back to us just days before our Christmas.  We owe her so much thanks.  We couldn't have done it without her.  

Nataleigh was speechless.

  My kids are not perfect--far from it-- but in these few moments I felt like they really understood that giving is more important than getting.  I'm really proud of my kiddos.

   With all the presents opened, with had our traditional Christmas breakfast with Grandma Jackie's breakfast casserole and Grandma Susan's butterscotch butterballs. 

We packed the car and in a blink we were on our way to California.

Merry Christmas!

2012