Christmas Time!

Christmas Eve did not start out fabulously--Kayli called saying they were stuck in Indiana. I had to take Isabel to the doctor's, which corresponded with Leo's arrival time, so he was stuck at the airport for three hours waiting for me to pick him up (yes, we're down to one vehicle again.) And then it was horribly foggy driving to the airport, I thought I was going to be swallowed by some pothole I couldn't see and never be heard from again. Have I mentioned the roads here need serious work? But once Leo came home, everything brightened. He has a way of making that happen. :)We had my family's traditional dinner of hoagies. Yes, hoagies with pastrami and provolone and many other meats and cheeses and of course, lettuce and tomatoes. Then we did our own little Nativity play. Ana had many starring roles, including the shepard above.
Here she is as Mary. I had gotten out my Halloween box, and I think that was the highlight of the evening--making up costumes.
A wiseman and shepard.
A pretty fancy shepard.And here's the Christmas Eve PJ's.
And on to Christmas morning. Elena was very excited about her stocking. So excited in fact, that she wouldn't open any other presents. She kept saying "Eating" when we asked her if she wanted to open one. Hee. Hee. This year I put plastic bags full with Oreos and spicy hot Cheetos (Leo and I don't like either but Ana and Elena sure do) in their stockings with a few chocolates, due to the fact that Ana had last year's stocking candy till October. I'm not a big fan of that. So I hoped this way it would all get eaten up sooner. And it worked!!! It's practically all gone already.
Oh, here's the final outfit I made for Elena's doll.
Anyway, Christmas turned out great!!!! Ana loved all her presents. Last year, she wouldn't tell us a thing she wanted so Leo and I had to guess (we bought her Easy Bake oven kits--which she still hasn't used up). This year we surprised her with a camera, but the other stuff was all off her letter to Santa. Ahhh, so much easier that way. I did buy her that Little House set way back this spring at a garage sale, and I thought she probably wouldn't be happy with it, but surprise, surprise. Two weeks ago, she came home with Little House on the Prairie, read it all, said it was her favorite book and asked for the series!!! That was a miracle. I swear. Unfortunately her camera is already having issues due to an incident involving, well, I won't name names, but a Colombian pilot and his eight year old. Errrr.
I bought Leo a book with really neat pictures of Colombia. He bought me a glue gun. That's what I asked for. :)
Elena, after ignoring her presents all morning, fell in love with her stroller by the afternoon. So another good gift. My mom's right, it really makes for a better Christmas when you manage to find gifts that your kids are excited for. Also, Isabel received our traditional 1st Christmas gift--a passport. Maybe someday we'll put it to good use. At least we're prepared!!! :) Well, good night. I hope your holidays were just as good.