John David Pate-3years old

James Daniel Pate-3years old

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Tis the Season for....Christmas morning craziness!

























What a beautiful morning for our family. The big girls rushed downstairs at 6am to see what surprises Santa left...and a few hours later the little kids join us. Then it was craziness for the next 4 hours..haha...Rob prepared chocolate chip muffins and sausage scrambled eggs as we all gathered around to share a yummy breakfast. We took our time opening gifts..one at a time (because I am a control freak and like to take pictures and watch each child open their gifts)...and of course the boys stayed in their truck the entire time, John David saying "I go Mommy, vroom vroom" while James pushed radio buttons and danced back and forth. At one point John David said, "Uh oh Momma, I my ball" and jumped out of his truck to find his basketball, then returned to the truck and tried to bounce his basketball in the truck bed...!

Once the mad rush of gift ripping was over, the little ones went down for naps and the big girls and Rob and I piled up in our bed and watched Narnia. The snow falling outside our window made the morning extra special and memorable. Having my Dad and Rosey share these memories with us were pricelss. It has been so amazing to have their help these two weeks with the kids and house chores, but even more amazing is watching the bonds and relationships form between them and my children. John David walks around saying, "No Bubba, my RoRo" (letting James know that Rosey belongs to him)...ha...and James wants Becky instead of me because Becky will tote him all over Wal-Mart instead of riding in the shopping cart, and Ellie asked me a few nights ago how long it would be before we got to see Becky and Rosey again. Jenna told me Becky was the bestest because he didn't make them share Waffle House at all and he even let her have a fat ole breakfast for her fat belly. Claire has started counting down the days she has left with Becky and Rosey before they leave this Saturday to travel back to Utah. She even told me today, "Mommy, I don't want to play with friends right now because it wastes my time with Becky and Rosey!"

One thing is for sure, my kids adore their grandparents. They have such special memories with Becky and Rosey that I'm sure they will remember forever. It breaks my heart that we only visit with them a few times a year, but my heart is so full of memories with them, it keeps us close to them til the next time.

Our Christmas morning was wonderful. We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and prayed for our family to be strong, safe, and serve the Lord this upcoming year. I gazed at my Christmas tree and felt such peace and joy thinking of where the Lord has brought us. We are grateful.

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