Christmas Miracle (x2)

So Mark was schedule to work nights through all the holidays- Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years Eve, and New Years. Being low on the totem pole kind of stinks. So I was excited for the boys but feeling sad that Mark wouldn't be home Christmas Eve and that he would have to sleep through the day of Christmas. So as he was getting ready to head out the door Christmas Eve, he got a call from work and they called him off! Mind you that in a year at the hospital he has never been called off from work! We teared up at the reality that he would be home and able to enjoy all the festivities. That was our first Christmas miracle! The second was that these crazy boys slept through the night, which Michael hasn't done in a really long time(nor since Christmas). As a side note, please observe the cute pajama pants I made, way easy and with a steal on thermal tops from OldNavy, it was dirt cheap PJs! They love them and that makes me happy! So two Christmas miracles! It was a great blessing to have Mark home, and it wouldn't have felt right without him there to read the story of Christ's birth from the scriptures. Who knows what future Christmas's will bring, hospitals still have to run and people on life support still need their Respiratory Therapists, but for now, I am grateful to have this miracle this year!
We tried to simplify Christmas this year with each of the boys getting a present of 1) something they wanted 2) something they needed 3) something physical and 4) something spiritual/mental. They also got presents from grandparents, from each other, and of course from Santa. But I will say it is much easier to shop when I have those guidelines. I hadn't said anything to them about the 4 presents, so it was great when Michael opened the box with dress pants for church and shouted out "This is just what I needed! Thank you!" Apparently I wasn't the only one who was thinking he needed a new pair.
The following picture is by far the best investment for Christmas morning! They got them in their stockings, and the kids picked up every piece of wrapping paper and box on the floor because it was so fun! I didnt have to pick up a thing!
So we were able to spend Christmas morning together as a family, then Mark had to take a nap in the afternoon so he could go to work that night. So the boys and I headed over to my sister's for Christmas dinner and that sums up Christmas!
I have never been one to get that excited for New Years, and Mark worked in the Trauma unit at the hospital on NYE, so we rang in the new year by texting. Gotta love it.
So the holidays are over. The tree is down, the house is almost put back together. And I am looking forward to the hopes of 2011. My only real goal is to document that I am part of the family in the pictures and videos, since they are pretty much all of the kids. Maybe in the future my blog will show evidence of this!