First, I want to share Jubal's letter to Santa that was printed in our local newspaper. I was so surprised at his simple request since he had already seen Santa and asked for a remote-controlled truck, a guitar, and a brown gun "this big" (as wide as his arms would stretch). He had told his dad & I he wanted some Ninja Turtle sunglasses, but when I saw this, I smiled. Also, only my child would tell Santa he was going to leave him a sandwich & french fries. Haha!
We always go to my mama's and open gifts with her on Christmas Eve. We are not a big "commercial" Christmas family. I know it brings the boys joy to receive gifts, but I also want them to understand why we, as Christians, celebrate Christmas. It's not just about presents. So, anyway, my mama got them each a single gift. Jubal got a police car and Gentry got a fire truck, and both were thrilled. We gave my mama a 3 lbs. of fruitcake since she had been mentioning how much she wanted some. We just enjoyed being together for the evening before going home to let the boys open their gifts from us.
The boys each get to ask for three gifts from us and three gifts from Santa. Gentry isn't really at the age yet that he understands, so he only had a couple of requests. The rest was up to us. :)
We go ahead and open gifts on Christmas Eve so they can enjoy playing with their new goodies before waking up to find what Santa has brought them.
I knew if Santa was going to bring Jubal a remote-controlled truck, Gentry would want to play with one, too. Just to make sure there was no fighting over it, we bought Gentry his own remote-controlled truck. He had actually asked for a green truck so we made sure it was green.
We also got both of them a Spiderman hopper. If you get something for one, it's usually best to get the other one the same or similar. It eliminates fighting. Just trust me on that. ;)
They each got a pair of Under Armour shoes, too. Right now, they go through about three pair of tennis shoes a year. They either wear them out or simply outgrow them. I prefer name brand shoes. I know most kids like cartoon character shoes, or light up shoes, but I just can't do it. Not for me. No offense.
The red on his nose is finger paint. He was Rudolph at daycare.
I picked out this gun for Jubal. I didn't know if Santa would be able to find him a gun like he asked for, so I made sure my boy had a gun. Turns out, this is his favorite gun ever.
After opening presents and playing for a long time, we started settling down and it was time for me to uphold Jubal's promise to Santa. Yes, I made Santa a sandwich & french fries. I also put him some cookies I had made for the boys' parties at school that were left over on the plate, too. Jubal wanted to leave him chocolate milk. Alrighty then. Yes sir!
After the boys were nestled in bed, Santa made his way to our house. He was indeed able to find the brown gun "this big". Jubal also got the guitar and remote-controlled truck he had asked for.
Gentry got a drum set, a magnetic, portable writing board, and an indoor/outdoor dinosaur tent. He had mentioned a dinosaur so I guess this was Santa's dinosaur gift to him. ;)
Their stockings were packed with all kinds of little goodies, too. Gentry got a blue dinosaur, a new big boy cup, Superman sunglasses, mittens, and lots & lots of candy. Jubal got those Ninja Turtle sunglasses he asked for. He also got new underwear, a green dinosaur, mittens, and lots & lots of candy, too.
Oh, and Santa? Well, I think Santa got a little chubbier at our house. He did a good job eating what was left for him. I hope he liked it.
Jubal woke us up around like 4am, when he woke up to go to the bathroom and saw by the light of the Christmas tree that Santa had been there. There was a lot of playing going on very early this Christmas morning. Thankfully, we did all doze back off around 5:30, and got to sleep until about 8. Jubal made sure we all got back up soon, though.
With all the excitement and us getting ready to go to Larson's mama's house for lunch, I didn't get but one picture of them that morning. They had their shades & mittens on. They looked like the Blues Brothers to me. Ha!
We enjoyed the rest of the day at Larson's mama's house. Instead of the traditional meal this year, we decided to do a low-country boil. I am so glad we did, too. It was fairly nice weather, so we were able to sit around outside and laugh and talk while all the kids played. My mama was there with us, and it was just a good, good day.
As always, I missed our family members that couldn't be there, or either spent their Christmas in Heaven. Christmas is a lot different now that both of our families have gotten smaller over the years, but now that we have our boys, it's a lot more exciting for us, too. There is absolutely nothing more precious than seeing happiness & joy in your children's eyes.
It was a good Christmas. My heart is content.
