Christmas Blessings

There is something about doughy-eyed, bedheaded children discovering the gifts Santa Claus has left behind that makes parents' hearts melt with gratitude - gratitude for all the blessings in life.

Not the kind of blessings that arrive in packages under the Christmas tree, but that feeling of "life is really, really good" which truly makes us stop and thank God for those blessings.

Yes, we are fortunate beyond words. We are blessed with a roof over our heads, more than enough food to eat, healthy bodies and the opportunity to give an abundance of gifts to those we love the most.

She is blessed with her own "roof" for the yard now too :).

I'd like to think if we awoke to just one simple gift from Santa under the tree or even none at all, we would have still known the magic of Christmas. I'd like to think we are teaching this bright-eyed girl the gifts of giving to others, of being grateful for what we have, of practicing patience and kindness, of living with purpose.

She and the coveted American Doll Samantha, checking out the new digs.

Her excitement to give the gift she had selected for Daisy was palatable and contagious. Please note, she chose this blue tug-of-war toy as it nicely mimicked the tug-of-war toy Fancy Nancy's dog {Frenchie} receives in "A Splenderifious Christmas."

And though she must have asked three hundred times as we opened gifts on Christmas morn - "is that present for me?"...

Christmas PJs - made my Nana, up-cycled from the red/white table runners from our Jolly Holiday 3rd Birthday.

By day's end she was savoring the moment, experiencing the magic and even remembering a lovely "thank you" after opening each of those presents.

Evening present opening at Nana and Papa's was at a slightly slower pace. Perhaps the exhaustion was starting to set in? Or perhaps she was realizing she could actually stop and play for a moment with each new gift before tearing into the next?

Much to her happiness, Aunt BeBe delivered with the "wedding dress" for her "American doll" {she was quite vocal about the fact this present was missing from Santa earlier in the day}.

And Aunt Kassie gave her a much-loved "blue line to Boston"....

It plugs into our iPhones and functions as a real phone.

Meant to allow her to call Aunt Kassie anytime she wants... the peanut had quite the time calling Uncle Brandon at the fire station where he was working several times. They had several long conversations. Not sure about what. He is a trooper!

As the day drew to a close, we snuggled in with my family - her sleeping with sisters, Blaine and I tucked in my childhood room - and rested with the gratitude of a happy day celebrating Christmas, and with the gratitude of knowing there were a few days of relaxation and family time ahead {aka, letting my mom take care of us!}.

It was a lovely Christmas indeed.