We had a wonderful Christmas! The kiddos got to do their Santa gifts right away. Timothy woke up first. He got his very own personalized popcorn bowl (because he loves popcorn so much!). Then Anthony woke up. He got a $50 visa gift card. Molly woke up last. She received a pair of white Vans shoes she's been wanting.
Usually we have quiche, cheesy smokies, and homemade blueberry muffins for our Christmas breakfast, but I've been having to eat dairy free this past year, so we had to mix it up. Instead we made two types of sausage, bacon, a fruit salad, and dairy free regular and chocolate chip pancakes! While we missed the quiche, the pancakes and fruit salad were delicious and definitely hit the spot.
After breakfast it was finally time to open presents! They didn't have long lists this year. In fact, they were so specific with what they wanted, they each had maybe 2 items on their list. We decided, since they were all very specific, and they didn't have a lot of wants, to go ahead and splurge on just a few items, instead of going hog wild and getting each kid a ton of gifts. If you recall, they each got to open a gift early. Timothy an airhockey table, Anthony a TV for his room, and Molly a bag full of much wanted figits toys she's had her eye on.
All this to say, they didn't expect much because they each got exactly what they had wanted already. So you can imagine they were quiet pleased when they had another gift under the tree from Mama and Papa, a few gifts from others, and full stockings. From Mama and Papa, Molly got a hoodie and phone case. Anthony got a CO2 BB gun, and Timothy got gourmet popcorn and popcorn flavor toppings. Thank you to Gpa Machia, Gma Cathy, Aunt Erica and Uncle Matt, our friends the Myra's and our awesome friends who moved to Alaska last year!! The kiddos loved all the spending cash and Alaska shirts and hoodies they got! The kiddos and I got Papa a new collar, leash, harness, and bowl. I mean, Chunky, lol And I got some tea, honey, and an amazing pillow with Leo on it! I painted Nic a sign, and we got Gma Cathy a canvas photo of herself, Sherry, and Sammy.
For Christmas dinner we had homemade chicken noodle soup and homemade bisquits. Both dairy free, which made me happy. During the day we had snacked on meat balls, meat and cracker platter, and noodle salad, so we also had those along with dinner.
The rest of the day was a whirlwind! I did get in a bit of relaxing with my pup (I watched Krampus, haha), but most of my time was spent picking up the house, packing up Christmas, and packing for Sammy, myself, and the kids.......because we get to take a fun trip to Florida! Sam's good friend, Paul, from our Navy days, recently had his father pass away. He was left with a bit of money. Paul has been wanting us to come to FL to visit him for a while now, but tickets have been more than we could afford. Paul graciously offered to pay our way to FL over Christmas break so that we could visit with him and have a mini vaction.
I'm pretty blow away by his incredible kindness. We have kept it secret from the kids since October. Do you know how hard that was!? haha Today Paul called to "say hello" and surprised the kids with the news that it was warmer in FL and to he'd see them in a couple days, lol!
Now that the kids know, it was a mad rush to start packing and get the house and animals ready for Gma Cathy and our friend Nic to watch while we are away. But despite all the work, we still found time to enjoy the day. We watch some Christmas movies, listened to Christmas music, and listened to the kids laugh while they played online with their friends in Alaska.
We sure are looking forward to our trip! I am thankful to family for sending the kiddos spending money! And I am thankful to Gma and Nic for offering to watch the house and animals for us! All that's left now is to have a good time!
With love,
Mama Hauck
