Christmas Day 2011

Amazingly, the kids slept in until 7 am on Christmas morning. We have a balcony overlooking our living room, so we heard Rylan squealing with delight and calling to us as soon as he awoke and saw that Santa had indeed come. He was so excited to wake Caroline and tell her the good news, too. Caroline was very quiet as she crept out of her room and looked downstairs. She saw her Princess castle and after several seconds, she screamed and both kids rushed downstairs.
We loved being able to share their joy and excitement and took our time opening, admiring, and wrestling the presents free from all the packaging. I made a breakfast casserole and an apple pastry and took some to the hospital to share with Bethany and Brett and the other ICU nurses working that day. I had to work later that night, but we enjoyed a relaxing day at home playing with all our new toys.
We didn't get to spend Christmas with our extended family this year, but they were so thoughtful in sending us gifts and phone calls seemed to shorten the distance a bit. Thank you to all our family for your love and generosity to us.
Here are a few pictures of the hurricane that blew through our house on Christmas morning.