Merry COVID Christmas 2020

 Happy Birthday Jesus!!!  We had a very special Christmas Day.  We have celebrated Christmas Day as a family of four for many years, so the joy and magic of the day were retained, even during a pandemic.  All the kids gifts were sent to our house, so they had A LOT to open.  We still stuck with our four "want, need, wear, read" gifts, and the rest were from family and friends.  Seeing everything under the tree was wild!

I think the kids are going to be pretty excited about this!

We wanted to take a picture of the kids behind the presents.  T stumbled over them and needed a bit of a rescue. 

T: A little help please.

Two excited kids!

So ready to tear open the wrapping. 

We always start with the stocking gifts.

T: I really wanted a new belt!

T: Yes!  Books and magazines.  (She LOVES this book series Camp Club Girls)

T: I can't believe I get to design my own Barbie clothes!!

LEGOS and a pull up bar!

New clothes!

For all of the hard days we have as a family, the simple joys of Christmas morning cover a multitude of hard.  I was grinning from ear to ear all morning.  I am so thankful to share these joys with children and that Brandon and I get to enjoy them together!

A rare couple photo.

T: I really wanted a fancy dress.

I had to include this photo bomber picture because M doesn't want as many pics as T.

 

The ultimate Barbie kitchen!!!

M: A HUGE LEGO SET!!!!!

M: I was so excited!

T: Wearing a box is fun.  (Can you spy our brown Christmas in the background)

M: This pull-up bar is great!

T: I really like it too!

T is truly a Daddy's Girl and I love it so much!

M: How did Uncle Bret know???  This is M's favorite Norwegian singing group!

The "LEGO" sets were actually Nifeliz and we were a bit worried about this "Frad" set, but they have been wonderful!

M: Can we please play Shut the Box all day?

Very special Florida memory books made by my mom!  She is watching them open them on FaceTime!

She might also be a Mommy's Girl... and I love that too!

T in her element!

After opening presents which includes special sugary cereal we have breakfast and play with all our new things.  A funny story.  Brandon and I don't exchange gifts, but this year my parents ordered a new drill set for him so I wrapped it for him to open.  While I was unpacking all the Amazon boxes I found a set of donut pans I had ordered for myself.  I decided to wrap them up so I had something to open.  I said they were from Brandon.  He thought the whole thing was hilarious and then said that we should each buy several gifts next year from the other person... haha maybe I started a tradition.

Loving Shut the Box!

How many cats can you spot in the aftermath?

We had a Zoom session with my side of the family including my grandma.  It was very special to see them.  We tried to answer a few questions like we did at Thanksgiving, but Bret and his family were heading out to another celebration, so it was tricky.  It was still special to see them on Christmas Day.

Family Gatherings in 2020

T: I couldn't wait to begin designing my Barbie clothes.

M: Look at all these pieces!  Do you think this will really make a car?

During my COVID freezer cleaning I discovered some very old Shelly safe lefse.  I decided to have it on Christmas.  It didn't taste awesome, but it didn't taste horrible either. 

 

 

Made by my mom with love a few years ago.

We had an afternoon Zoom session with Brandon's family.  It worked out great to open presents together and spend time together.  I was so thankful that we could do this.

Zoom session number two!

My mom sent me this sweet photo of my Grandma.  She received two Christmas flower center pieces this year.  They are beautiful and so is she!

Can you guess my grandma's favorite color?  (It is red)

Afternoon "cat chasing the light" entertainment.

Getting some energy out in her new Christmas PJ top.

Our Christmas Day evening had a little chaos.  T really wanted to set up all of her Barbie stuff, so we decided to totally change up her room.  We took the doors off her closet and put her big Barbie house in there.  This ended up really opening up her room.  I think I will have the finished product in another post.  It looks so much bigger and less chaotic now.  It was a bit of an intense way to end Christmas, but she was happy to have it completed.  We did spend some time a few days later going through bins and getting the rest of the room organized.  Keeping on top of this organization is a major task. 

 

T: My Barbies have everything they need!

 

We had a wonderful Christmas Day and felt blessed in every way.  We ended the day with our final reading from Ishtar's Odyssey.  It was special to end the day with the focus on Jesus, the greatest fit of all!