Last Night

Last night was Merry Christmas! at our house. We are packing up and heading to Oklahoma bright and early Sunday morning so we wanted today (Saturday) for to be a fairly easy day as we need to get take the Christmas tree down and do those last minute details before leaving on a trip. Throwing in Merry Christmas! on top of it all just didn't sound very merry so...we made that very happy, once a year event last night.

And it was very merry indeed.

I love Christmas. It's a little bit of once a year perfection filled with special food and merry moods and bright smiles and happy surprises. I don't think we have ever opened our gifts on Christmas Day as it seems we're traveling or extended family is visiting or something is going on that disrupts it from being just us. But that's okay. It's all we know and we like it that way.

So last night I made cheesy potato soup as it's one of my family's favorite soups and then, at Roy's request, we purchased bread bowls from Panera. Darian cut up some Hickory Farms cheese and turkey sausage (for the meat lovers)  on a platter and added some crackers in the center. We used the fine china and added a candle so that it looked and felt rather festive. And then we took all kinds of family pictures around the tree that were a bit of a bust but...at least it was fun. :)

Why didn't someone tell me that shirt was so see-through??

One of our traditions is to hand out the gifts and then take turns opening them one by one circle-style, starting with Jace. Normally everyone decides which gift they open first; but I decided the order this year as I got all the kids a "bigger" gift and wanted them to save it for last. Oh my goodness--such fun.

The girls were ecstatic with every gift as they are just simple girls and love absolutely everything: underwear?? Thanks, Mom and Dad! I love underwear! I think this is my favorite gift!! And then a bit later: A bathrobe? Oh my goodness! This is exactly what I wanted! I love it! Pretty sure this is my favorite gift! ...or whatever it was.

And Jace gave it his all. He tried his best to be so excited and thankful for the clothes that he kept opening. The thing is, Jace wears a uniform every day and he rarely changes his clothes once he's home. He isn't much for clothes actually, choosing sweats or old shorts, raggedy jeans--whatever he happens to grab whenever he opens his drawers. And I tend to be ... eh ... in the clothes department as, really, where do we go?  But we're headed to Oklahoma and truly there are times he needs something decent to wear so...I picked up a few items.

And then the girls opened their big gifts: Nooks. And as they oohed and aaahed, squealed with excitement, it was just a little more than Jace could stand. He did his best to hide the tears, turned his face towards the chair so nobody could see and squeezed his eyes as hard as he could. It made me burst a little with pride that he tried so hard to contain his disappointment, as I knew that the surprise would be worth it once he got on the other side of the next package that was his to open...but meanwhile, I must admit I enjoyed watching all this drama as it would make the surprise that much better.

In typical Roy-fashion, he couldn't stand it, and he demanded that I get the misery over with and let Jace open his very last gift. And so...I said, "Here you go, Jace. Open your socks. You don't mind getting clothes for Christmas, right? I mean, you really needed them..."

And after ripping the paper off that box like it was burning his hands, he reached inside and pulled out his very much dreamed-for iPod 5. "I knew it! I knew it!" he exclaimed, his eyes lit up like Christmas itself. "I'm naming it Sexy!" And then he did his happy dance and hugged it to his body, closed his eyes, and soaked in the moment.

The girls' generosity was over the top as they are thoughtful and sweet and make me proud. They gave Roy and I a gift card to a restaurant of our choice labeled "Date Night! We'll babysit!"

I can't wait.

They rest of the night was filled with talking and laughing and playing with Nooks and iPods and drinking hot chocolate and just soaking in being together. Guerin came by and he and Savana did their thing and I went upstairs until, at last, it was time to turn out the lights and go to bed.

So today I will take down the tree. I will unplug the lights and carefully remove all the tinsel and sparkle and glitter. I will seal it up for eleven months, hiding it away in a closet, and by the time we go to bed tonight, our house will be back to normal.

But until then, I will relish these few last hours to enjoy the tree, enjoy the lights, enjoy the last moments of our 2013 Christmas.

But most of all, I will relish the memories of sparkling eyes and Thank you, Mom and Dad and squeals of delight. I will treasure everything about last night and carry it with me for the rest of my life, holding it tight. Because last night means Savana and Darian and Jace and Roy. Last night means family.

Last night means everything.