Y'all don't even know how lovely this is, or how long I have wanted it, and it was a total surprise on Christmas morning. I don't think I have had a real Christmas morning surprise moment since I was a little kid!
Apparently, several weeks before, Mark had it repaired and renovated and all ready to go for Christmas morning. Oh, I maybe swooned a little. It is SO PERFECT, maybe damn near the best Christmas present I've ever gotten. I love it so much.
Okay so besides just the fireplace we really had a lovely Christmas time together, our little family. We have tried to make it a priority (read: been somewhat insistent) that Christmas Eve and Christmas morning will always be us, always at home, and so far it has always worked.
We go to a kid-oriented bell service on Christmas Eve afternoon, then come home for a quick dinner and change. We always let the kids open one present on Christmas Eve and it's always PJs (they are always surprised), and they always wear the PJs when we head back to church for the candlelight service. Those worship times are later and the kids need to go directly to bed when we get home, and they have always been in the nursery anyway, so PJs work great. But this year Nathan was totally old enough to come to the whole worship and even sit with me in the choir (Mark was on night shift this year, so he only got to do the bell service) so I gave Nathan the option to either keep his dress clothes on, or if he reeeally wanted to wear his new PJs per tradition, he could wear them and put his kiddie choir robe back on too. And that's what he chose. PJs and a choir robe. Grinning all the way.
Oh and he loved the service. He had never seen hundreds and hundreds of candles like that, and he couldn't believe he got to hold a real one. And ring one of my bells (a real handbell, not a jingle bell but a real bell Mommy!) on joy to the world, and yeah it was ridiculously sweet and happy to have him worship with me.
ANYWAY that's how we do Christmas Eve.
And the next morning when Mark got home from work, we saw what Santa put in our stockings, then after Mark slept most of the day, we opened our presents to each other. (For me the best part of the afternoon was seeing the kids open what they picked out for each other. They get so excited trying not to tell what it is before it's unwrapped. I think they like doing their very own little shopping. So fun!)
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| Oh just a Daniel Tiger, in the pocket of a bigger Daniel Tiger wearing Christmas tree glasses, gripped lovingly by owl mittens. |
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| Santa brought a Cinderella dress and a few hugging animals AND a scarf for Hattie! |
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| A remote control car, and a (real!) spinosaurus tooth! (What, Santa doesn't put actual fossils in your stocking?) |
At some point late afternoon my mom came and brought Liam (new baby at his house, remember?!) and we ate breakfast for dinner, then Mark went back to work and then we played with new toys and drank coffee and had fun yes yes AND THEN I SAT SOME MORE BY MY FIREPLACE.
Did I mention the fireplace? Here, wait did you see it? Look at it again. This is what it looks like with a kid in front of it:
MAH FIREPLACE.
#fireplace
Merry fireside Christmas!
3 comments:
We want to get our fireplace fixed, too, and I LOVE that Mark did it for you and surprised you without your knowing.
And don't forget that Nathan kept the secret!!! Primo!
Wow what a great idea!! (the surprise fireplace thing) I can't believe you (nor Merritt!) haven't had one! Even I've had a working one, and I live in Houston where it never gets cold!
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