Fantastic Four: Christmas Redux

Ok.
So in true December fashion, the weeks before Christmas didn't go exactly as planned. We were fortunate that we were ahead of the game, but still. Almost all of Walkersville was felled in the past few weeks by ear infections, strep, sinus infections, the flu or some combination of various illnesses. We were no exception. Both CJ and Nate had nasty colds with fevers(which I'm not convinced weren't the flu), we had to bust out the nebulizer for Benjamin and Sudafed has been one of my closest companions for the past few days.
Thankfully, most of the germs were out of the house by the time Grammy and Grampy got here and we were able to have a wonderful time during their visit.
We adventured down to Udvar-Hazy (sense a recurring theme?) and chilled the rest of the time.
It was great.

Grampy and the 3 Olders in the air traffic control tower. The fog was wicked dense and we didn't get to view much more than the parking lot, but it was still neat.

Waiting with Grammy for our turn to learn to fly a little Cessna.

Only Nate could pull of that hat.


Story Time under the Space Shuttle Discovery. So. Flippin'. Cool.

Daddy and CJ flying the Cessna.

Grammy and Grampy left today and we were sad to see them leave. We spent the morning bumming around before cleaning up and watching some movies. "Frosty the Snowman" is becoming a favorite. We were explaining to the kids how the whole week would revolve around when Rudolph and Frosty and Charlie Brown's Christmas Special were on television. They didn't understand the concept of something being on television at a set time. We're glad they're enjoying the old TV specials, though.
Christmas was wonderful. We pared down activities this season and have appreciated some extra down time. One of the traditions we started this year was a Jesse Tree. Each day we would take an ornament off it and read the verses associated and learned about the lineage of Jesus in the Old Testament.
We had a little glitch on the Friday before Christmas when Caroline came home from school very grumpy. Two punka$$ kids in her class called her a "baby" and told her there was no such thing as Santa Claus. She explained that Santa was St Nicholas and that he gave gifts to honor Jesus and that he does this now so we can celebrate Jesus' birthday. They told her she was wrong. She told me, "Mama. I know St Nicholas is real. He lived. He's a saint. They just don't understand," and was rather upset about the whole conversation. If I ever get my hands on those kids...
Something that struck us on Christmas morning was just how excited and grateful the kids were as they opened their presents. "Thank you!!" was an often repeated phrase. It made the day.
We laughed hysterically as the kids opened their stockings. Nate was ecstatic. Bouncing off the walls, really. He opened a pack of bubble gum and we heard, "I got gum! I got gum!!! What I always wanted!" accompanied by jumping up and down and screaming. The funniest part was when he pulled out a pair of gloves and said, "I got a glove! No I got TWO! One for each hand! That is so awesome!". The boys got Hess trucks and Caroline got a new little toy puppy from St Nicholas. They played very happily with those and we had to remind them that there were other presents to open. Everyone was so generous to us. It's overwhelming. We are grateful.
I think the only thing better than being a kid on Christmas is being a parent watching your kids enjoy Christmas.

St Nicholas enjoyed his Stella and birthday cupcake for Jesus.

Examining their stockings...

CJ opening her new puppy. She named him "Carnation".

Benjamin playing with his helicopter. I don't think he has put it down yet.

Sam with is scout ship.


Nate and the Hess Scout Ship.

Caroline and I were up early Christmas morning (the boys slept until after 7:30) and she helped me make frosting and make a scavenger hunt for Grammy and Grampy to find their presents. They went all over the house to find things. We got everything, we think. We'll work out the kinks for next year. ;)