A Merry Christmas Day ~2011

Like it always does, Christmas came together with all the details, however last-minute, to be a special day of celebrating Christ's birth with family, and calls to friends. We typically have a slow start, with having breakfast first. With the boys being older, they are pretty patient now. Nora didn't know any better, at least this year... My parents joined us for a brunch style meal of blueberry crepes, which was very delicious.

We squeezed into the front room between the tree and the piano... cozy and festive. It forces the boys to be in closer contact than they might normally choose... it's nice.

Lewis was very sweet to make everyone thoughtful, original homemade gifts. James had a good laugh once he realized that Lewis had made him a mouse-pad for his computer. Lewis takes it all in good humour, and we're always happy to see James grinning. :)

A game inspired from one of our favourite movies, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid"... you wouldn't want to get the "cheese touch"... Nora had her own touch, helping everyone open their gifts. She definitely enjoyed herself.

Charles is always happy to get new clothes while  Rosie is always happy to be with Charles!

Because we always forget, James was asked to videotape. We'll see how he did in about ten years when we finally view the video...

James is the kind of guy that will always say "Nothing..." when being asked as to what he might like for a gift. Makes it a challenge, but hopefully he will enjoy a camera on his trip to Europe at Spring Break. (He also got a passport holder, this book courtesy of my online Amazon.ca shopping, and an ice scraper for any future vehicle of his own... so he might consider getting more specific with his gift list!)

Lewis' gift to Scott and I was a "Portable fan", which is quite ingenious despite needing some work on it's cosmetic design. :)  We will give you a demonstration when you come by sometime...

A quick photo of Scott, as being the camera-man for the day he didn't get into many photos himself!

A very amusing moment was when Lewis pulled out the gift that he had made and wrapped for himself. All those weeks working secretly in his room... and here I thought the gift was for us! Notice where the box is from?!

"Mailed from China...."

Based on a ball machine idea, the ball rolls down each letter of Lewis' name to come out the bottom. He and Grandpa later installed this onto his bedroom wall as a shelf. The reason he made a gift for himself was because he knew that Dad bought his own Christmas gift... a camera flash. Lewis didn't quite realize that it was on my behalf. Anyway, we all had a good laugh...

Grandpa enjoyed the finished product, especially as he had given advice to his young apprentice in the process.

Nora received a very special gift of Disney princess "Mulan". This one may need to stay on the shelf for a year or two, as it's so nice.

Did you know Chuck Norris dropped by our house? :) Thomas still enjoys his one-liners.

Now if only the weather would get cooler to get to wear hats outside...

Enjoying together time... being so thankful for our children, especially on days like today.

An awesome gift for everyone... a keyboard for the basement, that only has 700+ voices. These two composed a song together in the afternoon, so fun!

After an afternoon nap, we headed over to Rob and Kellie's house for dinner. Family friends Joan and Vera joined us there. Was so wonderful not to cook the meal this year. Thanks!

The younger boys with their cousins, and Luna.

A second round of gift opening... Nora is very focused and loves every part of it.

Seeing the older boys come down to her level is sweet, too.

After eating a delicious meal, we headed home a happy family. I worked the night-shift at 11 pm, and it was thankfully pretty quiet. Hope you all had a wonderful day also. :)