conquering christmas

there is that moment on december 26th when you wake up, grab a cup of coffee, snuggle with your babies, and then make the mistake of looking around at the disaster that is now your house. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that our dining room table had a solid two foot high pile of gifts covering it and the living room looked like a bomb had gone off. all at once the panic set in and I felt the need to put life on hold and conquer christmas. let me give it to you straight - our house is small. we have precisely three closets in the whole joint; two of which are a mere 2 1/2 feet wide. so the thought of having to somehow fit all of the wonderful new toys into our home was daunting. and we all know that before the disaster gets better, it has to get worse. *sigh* well...many, many, many hours later I had defeated christmas! every new toy was stowed into its newly labeled spot (thank you honey for my new favorite household tool). I could once again enjoy my cup of coffee and relive the magic of christmas. because even with the post-christmas organization battle that I know is looming each year, I adore christmas.

there is nothing more fulfilling than watching your children experience the magic of the holiday. we spent the entire weekend surrounded by our families. hands down, that is definitely the best gift of the season. we are blessed and we know it. some might say that celebrating four christmases in two days is too chaotic. and yes, while there are moments when it feels a bit too busy, I am quick to stop and remember that it is a wonderful "problem" to have.

we got dolled up for brunch and games at my parents' house on christmas eve morning. we watched as the boys were spoiled by nana and papa, great-grandma sissy, and a slew of aunts and uncles. we were thankful to have my cousin safely arrive from wisconsin - it wouldn't be the same without him. and for the third (or maybe fourth) year we played our secret santa game. this year's packages were wrapped in plain paper bags and were labeled with three qualities that you admire about your person. we find that this game makes us all slow down and remember that it isn't about the gift your giving, but rather the gift of each person in our family.

our first greseth christmas eve without grandpa was difficult. but oh did we feel him there with us and we are certain that his first christmas in heaven was spectacular. our time together was comforting and we all look forward to the norwegian feast each christmas eve.

the little ones exchanged gifts, but not before we read the christmas story and sang a few carols. I remember doing this as a child and feeling the agony of the adults dragging out the whole charade. after all, it basically feels like an eternity when you are staring at your big ol' pile of gifts and having to wait for yet another verse of away in a manger.

christmas morning is ours. it is a quiet time for our family of four to be together. we cherish those few hours alone with our boys. this year miles really started to understand christmas and how it works. he was excited to see what santa brought, but didn't want to go into the dining room for fear that he might have to see the man with the big red hat. scary. he was especially thrilled when he found his tiny tiger buried at the toe of his stocking and when he unwrapped a slew of super why! toys. oh to be two again!

henry was oblivious, but thought the wrapping paper was fun...not to mention tasty! but perhaps even tastier was his first christmas morning breakfast. the waffles and yogurt with blackberries put a smile on all of our faces!

we finished up the big weekend with christmas with the kroenings. once again we filled our bellies and found an obscenely large pile of gifts under the tree. santa was definitely good to all of us this year! grandpa always makes sure the boys get plenty of john deere gear and henry was jazzed about his new little combine. he pushed it all over the floor.

it's always somewhat of a downer when you wake up to find wadded up wrapping paper strewn about with a big ol' pile of christmas dishes in the sink and loads of new things to find homes for on your dining room table. but it was worth every bit of all that. christmas comes but once a year and we will do it up right every time!

the following is a little christmas video montage. I'll warn you: it's long. but there were too many adorable pictures that I had to somehow include...and who doesn't enjoy a little post-christmas music? bonus.