My life...as a wife and a mom of 4: It was a perfect Christmas!

Yes you may say that this post is out of date, but as a working mom of 4 I think I am doing great by posting about Christmas within 30 days of the actual event!

This year Christmas was quite possibly one of my favorite! Each year there is something special about celebrating that Christmas, the first one Matt and I did as a married couple, the first one as parents to two awesome little darlings, the first one as a family of six and I have to say this one - as the first one when Caden and Maggie had a toy that they were asking for over and over and could not wait until Christmas morning to see if Santa delivered!

Both Caden and Maggie took a better liking to Santa this year. They wrote letters to Santa rattling off their wishes and they interacted with him when we went to visit. Each of them had one item that kept coming up whenever someone would ask them.

For Caden - it was Beyblades, yes those tops that spin and you can battle your friends with, they are marked for ages 8 or older but he had to have them after he saw them at his buddy Preston's house.

For Maggie - it was a Jessie outfit and a pink circle hat, yes Jessie's hat is red but Miss Maggie wanted it to be pink.

And so I say that this Christmas was perfect because the look on their faces when they each opened their gift they had been waiting for was priceless. What a feeling as a parent to know that all of their expectations were met - I am pretty sure I won't ever feel that way again. I know as we get older our expectations of things grow and change and at times become so big that reaching them all is not always possible but it was on this day. I will take this one day and those few moments when all expectations where satisfied and we were together as a family.

Cale and Mallory had a great Christmas too - they didn't ask for anything - they are only 18 months after all but there were a few hits for them. I do need to note that while they loved to say "Santa" and walked aroudn saying "HO, HO, HO" when it came time to get close to Santa there were blood curdling screams and they held onto tight to mommy or daddy - it wasn't happening, there was not sitting on Santa's lap!

Cale LOVES his pony that he and Mallory received from Santa. He is evening learning to climb up on it by himself now. We though for sure that the pony would be the reason for our trip to the ER in the future - not the kitchen chair. He will wear Maggie's pink cowgirl hat and ride his pony all the while with a look of concentration in his eyes and giggles rolling out of his mouth. Cale could really have cared less to actually open the gifts and was quite content after the first one, he played with that and we had to convince him to come and open the rest!

Mallory could really care less for the pony, she has screamed every time we try to put her on it. She LOVES her slippers she received from mommy and daddy - although we have missed placed one right now -she looks cute as a little old lady in her jammies and slippers. However, her FAVORITE gift is probably her baby doll she received from Memaw Donna and Papaw Chris. She loves to carry her baby and feed her a bottle, of course she has to have milk (we use water but Mallory says milk). Mallory is a present opening MACHINE, she wanted "more, more" but she really did enjoy playing and opening every gift.

Each one of the kids received a recordable book from mommy and daddy - they love that they can turn the page and hear our voice.
They also each get an ornament each year to remember the year by:
Caden: he received a Tow Mater with rockets ornament - for we saw Cars 2 as well as the space shuttle launch this year and he LOVES the shuttle launches - he is still watching the recording on the DVR with daddy.
Maggie: she received a Belle ornament as she, myself, Memaw Donna, Aunt Nicole, Elizabeth and Aunt Kelsey went to see Maggie's first Broadway performance this year - she loved it and looks so cute in her Belle costume
Mallory: she received a replica of the Fisher Price Little People House - every morning for months while we were getting everyone ready she would play with that house and still does when we play Little People
Cale: he received a Fisher Price Fire Truck, he absolutely loves to sit and play with Caden's fire truck.

I have visions that one day when they are grown and are putting up their own family Christmas tree they are getting out their ornaments from each year and remembering why they got those for that year - yes I am making a list for them as to the reason for each one being!

I love Christmas time, not for the gifts but for the time to honor Jesus and to spend the day focusing on family and our many blessings. While our day did take a turn for crazy when we had to rush Cale to the emergency room that morning of gifts with my kids, hubby and father in law was AWESOME and moments I will forever treasure.

I am blessed, what appears as chaos to others is my security blanket, and I definitely would not trade it for the world. I am so glad that Santa helped us to deliver the expectations that they each had on their gifts.