Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Not exactly the Christmas we expected....

Hello friends.  It has been a few weeks since I have blogged (thank goodness for scheduled posts, right?).  As much as I tried to not let the Holidays get the most of me and focus on the true meaning of Christmas, the entire season grabs a hold of you and you can't let go!  We had so many fun plans - Holiday parties, Programs, the North Pole Flyer, the Elf Quote-a-long, Sissy's PJ Exchange...all so much fun!  

And then we received sad news a few days before Christmas.  Matt's beloved Grandma ~ Grandma Darling ~ passed away.  There was no hesitation - we loaded up the car immediately and headed to Illinois.  The kids were resilient - no hesitation - and they survived a 15 hour drive through the night to arrive there by 5 am.  

It was a bittersweet Christmas - great to be around family but sad to be there for that occasion.  Grandma Darling was an amazing woman - with so many who loved her.  We had a wonderful memorial service for her and I was very glad we were able to be there.  We were so very blessed by God to have her in our lives as long as we did.

Of course we had the question form the kids...."Will Santa still come to Illinois?"  And after my kids' crazy requests in their letters and the even crazier conversation they had with Santa, I received many questions as to what Sissy did get from Santa.

Both expecting what they asked for, Brody even wrote this letter and snuck it next to the cookies before he headed to bed Christmas Eve......
 The next morning, Santa was very good to my kids, leaving them a XBox 360 with Kinect and 3 games!!! WOW!!  He left little Bubba a fun Chuggington train set.  Brody was so excited, he didn't even ask about the go-cart.

Sis took a minute - had a hard time realizing that Santa didn't bring her an iPad - she rallied and didn't say much about it all morning.

Later that morning, we found 2 last presents to give to the kids.....
Brody was puzzled as to what was in the box but Sissy saw the picture right away and knew what it meant....
 He looked at the picture of the go-cart and then looked at me and said, "Well, I didn't want a picture of it!!"

"Honey, the real thing is at home in the garage."

"YES!!!!!!"  My boy was on cloud nine - Is it bad that I am happy that Mom & Dad put him them, and not Santa?
 Sissy, seeing where this was going, tore into her present as quickly as possible. I think she was expecting a picture of an iPad.....
 Though she never said that and was THRILLED to received money from her mom & dad to help her buy an iPad.
 She quickly grabbed some wrapping paper to add up how much she has saved already.  With her little entrepreneurial spirit, she has almost enough - she sold some old DS games and American Girl stuff, took care of our neighbors dog, and received more $$ for Christmas presents.  She has a few dog walking jobs lined up over the next week that will hopefully take her to the top to EARN her own iPad - the ONLY way she was going to get one.

We faced a long drive home and Brody was so patient, as he had to wait 15 hours to charge the dang thing.  But he finally got out on his go-cart. Have you ever seen him smile so much??


One day Bubba- one day.

Linking up with my girls - Shawn & IA for Talk To Us Tuesday!  Link your post up - there's no rules and no work!!

Seriously Shawn


13 comments:

Kelli said...

I'm so sorry about the loss of Matt's grandmother, but glad you all were able to safely make it there. I love that Sissy is working hard to get her iPad...it will mean that much more to her. That go-cart looks really cool.

Sugarplum Creations Blog said...

I'm sorry about Grandma Darling :( But what a wonderful way to spend Christmas ~ with all of your family.

I love it when children really have to work hard to earn what they want. I love to give gifts to the girls, but encouraging them to work hard at something, and really want something before making a purchase, is a gift in itself.

Myya said...

I'm so sorry about Matt's grandmother. Isn't it such a wonderful thing having faith & knowing that she really is in a better place.

Brody looks estatic, what an awesome surprise!!!

Good for you guys for letting Sissy EARN her iPad, she will love it even more because of that!
Sounds like a wonderful Christmas,

I hope that the New Year is just as great!

Impulsive Addict said...

I already knew about Matt's grandma and expressed condolences but I'll say it again. There isn't a good time to lose a loved one but I think around the holidays it's much harder.

It looks like you guys had an amazing Christmas anyway and your kids are so cute! Sissy is looking more and more like a teenager!

Thanks for linking up with us my sweet friend! xoxo

Connie said...

I'm sorry it took Grandma's passing to have Christmas with your family.

I loved seeing the pictures of the kids opening their gifts and that smile on Brody's face is priceless!

Becca said...

I am so sorry for the loss of your grandmother. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you. The kids are so resilient! I love their faces on Christmas opening their gifts!

Stacie said...

The holidays are tough without all of your loved ones, but having family together does ease it some.

The looks on your kids faces were great!

Jen said...

You guys are just the best. I love the way you just picked up and went with it, and it all worked out. (Love Brody's Star Wars PJS!)

And BIG PROPS to you for having Sissy earn her iPad. Huge thing, that. It will mean so much more that she earned it with work, and some help along the way :)

Thinking we may have a go-cart in our future!!

Vivienne @ the V Spot said...

So sorry for your family's loss, but glad you were all able to be together. The pix of the kids are priceless!

Debilou ~ Mississippi Mama said...

So sorry to hear about your familys loss. Happy New Year to you and yours.

Emmy said...

So sorry she passed right around Christmas- it sounds like it ended up being a great Christmas with family. I laughed out loud at the "I didn't want a picture of it".

Macey said...

Um. I want a go kart!

Shawn said...

You certainly had your share of trials this Christmas didn't you? I'm glad you were able to make the best of a sad situation and that your kiddos are so fabulous as to accept the last minutes change of plans.

As always great pictures!

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