Merry Christmas!!

Made it through another Christmas.  No, we did not get a white Christmas.  On Christmas Eve we enjoyed flurries off & on all day but no measurable snow.  And frankly, we were glad.  Kier left for Florida on the 26th & so we were praying hard for clear, dry roads & good weather for his long drive.  He is now happy & safe in Florida so now we are happily awaiting a nice big snowfall.  Especially with us all ensconced safely in the house due to the pandemic. Captain Awesome is working from home & the kids are schooling virtually so I'm good with some yucky winter weather.  

Leading up to the big day found McKenna & I enjoying some time together getting crafty.

The finished product:

She is so amazingly talented my daughter! I am so proud of her.  While she worked on the new Christmas card display I was working on wreaths for the back door & bows for the Christmas tree.  

Luna wasn't that impressed with our craftiness but she definitely liked the village... every time I turned around there she was looking like Godzilla attacking a village at Christmas.  

But she wasn't done inspecting my work.  As I spent Tuesday night getting all the presents wrapped, yes while I was watching Hallmark Christmas movies, for Friday morning she & Flynn took turns coming in to inspect my wrapping supplies for quality.  They both highly approve of the tissue paper.  

Flynn

Luna

Meanwhile, we enjoyed a nice quiet Christmas with each other.  As usual, we had our big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve followed by the opening of one present each, the yearly Christmas PJs.

Kieran had fun handing out this year's family PJs, McKenna was in the mood to be goofy...

Here is the family photo but I will be honest...we didn't take the picture until the next morning. 

After the PJs were handed out everyone was done spending time together so they put on their jammies & headed off into their rooms to do their own thing.  I hung out with Artie watching Christmas movies...

And enjoying how much Loki loves his new giant bed.  The first bed we found that actually fits him.  

The next morning we all slept in until 8 & then slowly woke up one by one, with me last. I'm not a morning person. I cannot even say how happy I am to celebrate Christmas with teens instead of little kids.  Even just 5, maybe 6, years ago we'd all be up by 6 to open presents because of little ones who were too excited to sleep anymore.  Thank goodness for teenagers.  

This was one of 2 presents for me from Liam.  Because writing requires a lot of fine motor control A-T makes it impossible for Liam to write, he can do his name & that's about it & even then it has to be in a larger area because of his lack of control.  But every time he signs his name I love it.  I love seeing how proud he is that he can write his name without help. I loved that he signed the whole package with his name after CA wrapped it for him.  I didn't keep the paper but I took a picture for myself. 
Can you see his signature?   

Once we finished opening presents I was again struck by the difference between Christmas with littles & teens.  There wasn't a huge mess of wrappings, boxes, & toys all over the family room.  Each kid took their booty to their rooms & helped clear up the little bit of mess left.  Boom done! It was wonderful!  Following that, I was able to join the extended family, my side, on a big Zoom chat & spend Christmas morning visiting & telling them each how much I loved them & missed them.  It was so much fun!  I think it should be a tradition we do every year. The day passed in a lazy blur of us all hanging out in our family PJs relaxing & eating leftovers.  It was lovely.  And of course, I had to watch my favorite Christmas movie of all time!

Wishing & praying all of you had a lovely Christmas, however you spent it. Merry Christmas 2020!! 

All my love,

Jes