An Unexpected (yet priceless) Gift

This year I received many presents from my little 1st Graders. I opened most of them in front of the group (which I will never do again to avoid hurt feelings!!). They were all very sweet and nice - ornaments, mugs, a book, bath and body products, a pen, a candle, etc. I "oohed and aahhed" over them all and let them know how special they all were to me.




The very next day a little boy comes up to me with great big eyes. He had a "surprise" for me! He even wrapped it himself and it took him ALL morning!!! As you can see he has it labeled, "Mis Mrin". ;)
It was so precious, I just didn't think I could tear it open!

He was watching me every second as I opened this layering of paper. He just couldn't WAIT until I saw what was in the package for me!! I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw this treasure. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I saw this half eaten, fuzzy and sticky candy cane stick. But I kept it together and just went on and on at how great it was.

But wait...that's not all!!!!

He wanted me to have my very own gingerbread man. He drew one for me and included the directions....1. color(colr), 2. cut (cott).

:)

There was another picture he drew for me too. He colored that one so all I had to do was "cut" that one.

He was tickled and proud of himself over this gift.

Yes, the candles, jewelry, candy, mugs, pens and ornaments were great but this gift......

Well, this is one gift I will not ever forget!

It's definitely not the most glamourous or traditional gift a teacher could receive but this one came straight from the heart of a sweet little 7 year old that wanted to get something special for his teacher. This is what it's all about!

Merry Christmas!

(Don't be too shocked over my posting Melissa! I have a few days off from work!! haha)
We have had a wonderful Christmas!! The joy and anticipation you see in the eyes of your children is such a blessing. I try not to think about how different Christmas will be when the kids are older teenagers and we have to drag them out of bed to see what Santa has left or when they are grown and gone. I am thinking it won't be nearly as exciting! I am trying to savor and treasure every moment (crazy or not) with these little ones!
Our Christmas morning started with Blake "quietly" (uh huh, right!) coming into our room at 6:30am and asking if he can sleep with me. I said sure. Josh turned on the bedside light and Blake started shouting, "Santa brought me my training bike!!!" We all had to get up after that and witness Blake's Christmas miracle.
We cover everything with a sheet so the kids don't get carried away and start running from one thing to another. Everyone has a designated sheet that has all their Santa goodies under it and we start with a family prayer. Then the youngest child "unveils" their Santa gifts. We get to marvel and "ooh and aah" over each one.
Here is Blake with his training bike.....

After we saw what Santa brought, Josh and I went back to bed for about an hour. When I got up again, Blake was still riding his bike around the house. I think he rode for a total of 4 hours!!!! IN LOVE with his bike!!! Tyler got a light up wheel and spark throwing scooter. You'll see this fun gift a little later.
Here he is with Dad - they are both sporting their Philadelphia Eagles paraphernalia. He also got a green nerf football that he can't wait to throw around with the neighborhood boys. Football is definitely his thing right now.

And Madison's thing is Barbies and baby dolls. I love that although she is almost 9 years old, she still asks for toys for Christmas! I LOVE it!!! Please don't grow up too soon!!! She got this totally cool Barbie furniture set along with some Barbies. She also got a Twinn doll baby with several sets of clothes. She is in the playroom now playing with those Barbies. We had to compensate for the Barbie house that she asked for!!! I pulled my 30 year old Barbie house from the attic about a month ago to show her she didn't really need a new house. It is a little yellow and rustic but she was really happy with it. Now she has rocking furniture to dress it up!

Does this look like a Tween's Christmas or what!!! Money, clothes, jewelry, light make-up, fluffy pillow and an Ipod Nano is what brought a smile to this sweet girl's face.

On a side note, Jamie turned 12 a couple of weeks ago. She had a fun sleepover birthday party. She started Young Women's and now she is just totally a pre-teen! She got braces about a month ago. She is doing pretty well with that. The first few days were torture and she was on a yogurt and applesauce diet but she lived through that. She even made it through a bracket popping off and getting it repaired. Now she has a major sore in her mouth and is learning that wax is her new best friend.

The boys got a fun electric race car track. This takes me back in time to watching my brothers play their "Dukes of Hazard" race track. Oh yeah. Bo and Luke.

Josh did a great job stringing the lights up on the house. This is new this year. We were getting tired of the same old decorations. We were going to put up the wreaths too but never got around to it. Maybe next year!!!

You can also see Josh's big Christmas present sitting in the driveway. 2010 Toyota Tacoma 4-dr, long bed truck. Merry Christmas Baby!

Here is Blake sporting his new bike. Yeah, it's calling for snow tonight and yeah, Blake is riding barefoot. Don't judge. It was only for a minute. Really.

I love that little grin!!!!

You can see the sparkly wheels a little bit but he is doing a great job throwing those sparks! He rode his fun scooter most of the day. My bet is that those fun sparks will be gone by Monday!!!

One of my favorite gifts came from Jamie. She had Carla help her get pictures of my children and print them off to put in frames. This just melted my heart and I cried!!!! Now I know how special those sweet gifts are to moms and grandmas that come from their daughters. :)

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

I love this time with my family and close loved ones. I am truly grateful for our Savior and his birth. He is the greatest and only gift that we truly need.