Our Christmas

Due to being snowed-in for 2 days, we had a very quiet Christmas.

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On Christmas Eve our friend Gwen joined us for another turkey dinner. Afterward we all watched a movie and made 2 pans of Christmas fudge together.

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At bedtime I filmed Sarah, Jacob, and Dylan hanging their stockings and singing Christmas songs in their silliest voices, our annual tradition.

After dinner a neighbor surprised us with the gift of a TV she no longer used! For 20 years I've insisted on being a one-TV family, so my boys are elated to suddenly have one in their bedroom.

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I admit I'll enjoy having the video games in another room. In our area there is no TV without cable or satellite, and since there's no cable in the boys' room the TV will only be good for video games.

Gwen was safely delivered home by midnight and the kids tucked snugly in their beds before Santa stuffed their stockings and left gifts under the tree.

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At promptly 7am Dylan called from his room: "Mom, can we get up now?" They know I won't open gifts before it's light outside!

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Wiping sleep from my eyes, I filmed them exploring their stockings and opening presents.

It snowed steadily all morning. The roads in our neighborhood became impassable. My dad and step-mom tried to visit us but their car couldn't get through.

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Jeff and Dana invited us to their traditional waffles-and-pear-sauce Christmas breakfast, but we couldn't get out of the driveway. We missed out on the company, the food, and the family snowball fight!

Instead, we had a peaceful day at home. We played with the new toys and watched the new DVDs and enjoyed being together. We worked together to prepare a nice ham dinner and clean up after the festivities. To my surprise, none of my children complained about being stuck at home.

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Each Christmas I take pictures of the kids with their gifts. I started doing it when I was a teen, and it's fun to look back over the years and remember.

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My kids were good to me this year. Sarah gave me the newest Indiana Jones DVD, Jacob got me a digital picture frame, and Dylan gave me a Disney story book because he knows I love to read.

Today it snowed the entire day, sometimes so heavily I couldn't see the houses across the street. I heard the highway was so bad that cars were sliding sideways. So we spent another day at home and got a lot of deep-cleaning done. Sometimes these days can be a blessing.

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There are still a few gifts under the tree, waiting for the family Christmas party on New Years Day. I can't wait to see everyone!

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Note to Karla and Lori: the weather report shows no snow for this coming week, so driving conditions should be good for your trip up the mountain. But there should still be enough snow on the ground for a snowman or two!