We Had Ourselves A Merry Little Christmas

Here is the text to go with the many pictures in the previous post. Sorry about not rotating some of them around. Hold your head at a 90 degree angle and you will never know the difference.

We were excited about Christmas. It gave us something to focus on besides the adoption. Although, the families that have brought kids home have many stories involving superglued body parts, 911 calls and poop collection that made the present much easier to enjoy! The good thing about Christmas was that it was safe to be excited about it because we knew when it was coming and what to expect. Traditions we have carried from childhood, combined with traditions Lori and I created, were exceptionally comforting this year.

We were able to be totally present and enjoy the time together and with family. Lori is off for two weeks and it has been incredible. We have been getting through this year and this break has been nice. More about that in a later post.

The kids were good. Sometimes the holidays bring a level of insanity that makes Christmas difficult to embrace. They were appreciative and well mannered. We kept thinking they might be sick. Kennedy asked for normal gifts like the holiday Barbie. Let me say we never thought we would be excited about buying a Barbie but it was nice to just be able to walk into a retail store and purchase her gift. She usually asks for extremely obscure objects like Pocahontas artifacts or toys that involve peacocks. Neither a hot item at toys r us and has required lots of people searching the internet. Kennedy does not have toys like you see in most kids rooms. If you walked into her room you would wonder what she plays with. She has a stick she currently uses as a Harry Potter wand. It has also served as a Lion King prop, a baton and an arrow. She is an avid reader and has many small things she has collected here and there. One year she asked for a big bag full of rolls of tape. Okay, not difficult to purchase but not all that exciting to give either. This years Barbie was nice but we did miss the search for her offbeat request.

Ben was so easy. If it had wheels, he was happy. Throw in some baseballs and his life was complete.

Today we put up all the Christmas decorations and I felt a sadness that I normally do not experience. Usually I am ready to put things away. The holiday is over and it is time for the decorations to go. My phrase around here is "that is seasonally inappropriate". I cannot stand to read a Valentines book in the summer. I do not like Christmas decorations out after Christmas. I hate to see Christmas lights up AND on in February. Very seasonally inappropriate. We went out to dinner and Lori thought it would be great fun to drive around and look at Christmas lights. Lori and the kids found it funny to indulge in something as seasonally inappropriate as looking at Christmas lights after Christmas. I played it up for the kids and they spurred Lori to keep driving. It is funny to hear Kennedy refer to something as seasonally inappropriate. Anyway, I think I felt a sadness because Christmas this year was so helpful in waiting for the kids. It made time go quickly. I was so busy and did not dwell as much on the adoption. Most of all, Christmas this year brought time for us all to be together. We all needed it and everyone is in a much better place.