I continually felt behind--more so than usual.
My Christmas cards got out late, I never managed to get my mantle decorated, and I did the majority of my shopping the week before Christmas, but I wasn't stressed and nothing seemed chaotic, so I'm chalking it up as a successful one!
Henry got the camo compound bow that he had been dreaming about! He was ecstatic! He needs to build up some muscle, but he's slowly getting it! Santa also brought him a pair of chest waders. He's desperate to walk into the lake!
Sadly Josh Oliver did not get the new puppy that he was dreaming of. Santa agreed with me and told him that we already have two dogs that really need all of our love and attention right now, but he left Josh a bunch of dog treats so that he could try to convince either Maggie or Cooper to be only his dog. He hasn't had much luck so far! Maybe if he was more willing to pick up there poop......! Santa also left him a bunch of art supplies which he totally loves!
We also gave him a dream light puppy. I had the worst time trying to track that thing down, but I knew he probably wasn't getting the one thing he really wanted so I had to make sure he got #2 on his list. He was happy! He wasn't even too upset about not getting a real puppy!
Other than the whole Santa debacle, this was my very favorite Christmas for Luke.
This year he decided to buy everyone presents with his own money. He put so much thought into the things he bought and asked to look over his brothers lists. He even spent a day just shopping with me--that really was a huge sacrifice for him!
In the end he bought Ben a fancy bluetooth for one of his playstation games, a pretty scarf for me, monster trucks for Josh, and binoculars for Henry. Out of the $65 he started, he spent all but $5 of it.
I absolutely love that kid!
Taking all that into account, Santa brought him a Kindle Fire. He was ecstatic and beyond surprised!
I'm a big believer in making kids work and save for things like that, but sometimes those kinds of gifts are justifiable--plus I had to easy my guilt about the whole Santa thing!
* * * * *
Church was really central for us this year, more so than usual, I think.
Luke served a Christmas Eve Mass, Christmas Day Mass, the day after Christmas, and New Years Day Mass. Plus there was another Sunday Mass in the mix.
It was a lot for Luke, but I loved that it helped us, as a family, keep the focus on the real meaning of Christmas.
