Christmas Eve 2006

So much has happened the past few days!  Sorry I've gone a few days since the last entry.

On Friday, we picked up our sweet puppy, Coco.  (Email for pics if you want to see her!)  She really is a cutie!  The first night was a little difficult as she whimpered & whined in the kennel at the foot of our bed all night.  Larry & I are, well.... big wusses.  We ended up putting her in bed with us to get her to be quiet.  LOL!  Yes, seriously.  We couldn't stand listening to her whimper (not to mention that we couldn't sleep through it!)  We got smart last night, though and moved the kennel to the master bathroom.  Although we can still tell she's crying, the sound is muffled by the two doors in between us & her.  We actually slept last night!

Last night while tucking in the kids, Andrew looked me square in the eyes & said "I don't think I want to have Christmas."  (why not?)  "Because it reminds me of my mom.  Christmas is the last holiday I got to have with her."  I was astounded that this finally came out.  This is the first time he's initiated a conversation about his mom.  We talked about how cool it is that his mom gets to be at Jesus's side this year for Christmas--not just here on earth sitting around a big tree!  He was ok with how that conversation turned out, but I was just wow'd by him bringing it up!  Then this morning, we had another one of "those" times when Andrew lost it.  He got frustrated by something & as I walked into the room & spotted him taking a swing at Savannah with a book, I knew I had to get between them quickly.  It was time to leave for church anyway & he decided he wasn't going to go.  Um....yes you are, kiddo.  He drove all the way to church in tears with his fingers in his ears to block out everyone else.  In fact, at one point, he rolled his turtleneck up to cover his whole head.

Yesterday on the way to my family's Christmas get together, something about drugs came up.  Larry & I were giving a little mini "just say no" lesson & referred to the fact that some drugs are deadly.  Kourtney said "I want to take one of those drugs so I can go to Heaven with mommy."  She didn't elaborate & we didn't correct the drug end of that...we just let it go.

So clearly, both of them are feeling the sadness of Christmas without their mom.  It's hard to watch them suffer, but I guess it's inevitable that Christmas is hard after a loss--especially one so great!  Please keep praying for them.

Last Saturday we had Christmas with Larry's side of the family & then had my side of the family's get together yesterday.  They seem equally comfortable in both places and don't appear to feel out of place with my family.  I'm so glad they've meshed well with them!  My mom has made all of my (bio) kids a quilt at one point in time.  Earlier this year, Andrew commented on how he didn't have one, so she made him a special quilt for Christmas with pajamas!!  He was pretty stunned when he opened the bag.  (See the open-mouthed pic above)

Tonight we took a family picture.  I'm posting it along with last year's Christmas Eve picture to compare.  :)  I took 2 this time...and while Samuel's got a goofy look on his face, this is actually the better one.  His mouth was wide open in the 2nd one & Andrew had a funny look on his face.  Enjoy!

We opened gifts tonight so that tomorrow morning we can focus on Jesus's birthday party (we make a big deal out of making sure our focus is on Jesus first).  After the party, we'll go into the living room & see what Santa brings.  Later, we're going to go to the movies & see The Santa Clause 3.

Here's hoping that you all have a very happy, most merry Christmas celebration with your family!!!!!!