Christmas Memories 2008

Wow this past week has flown by for us. We had such a nice Christmas this year. All of the Erickson Five enjoyed the holiday. These kids were so excited and they are so mature now about gifts both giving and receiving. Both Jon and I were so surprised that they kept secrets about what gifts were bought for who. They would not tell Daddy what he got and they would just tell me that I was getting Stinky Socks (Jon's instructions). We had some pretty big boxes under the tree for the kids and they were there for over a week and the kids did not touch them at all. These kids were pretty spoiled this year but I know they have the true meaning of Christmas in their hearts. At church on Christmas Eve, K could not wait to see the baby Jesus in the manager. He walked right to the manger scene when we walked into church to see if the baby was there yet. He was not since they place the baby Jesus there at the start of mass but after mass, all three of the kids wanted to go see the baby Jesus. It was really very sweet.
On Christmas Eve Day, we opened the gifts with just the five of us. The kids knew that when daddy got home we would open the BIG boxes under the tree so they were going crazy. Below is a picture to show how they waited and watched for Daddy to come home. Once they saw his car, they went crazy. It was very cute and so fun to see them so excited. After our gift opening, we headed to church. The kids got to go up and sit in front for the homily since we were at the Children's mass. Both Jon and I get a little nervous when they do this because we have no idea what is going to come out of their little mouths. I am happy to report that it all went fine.
After Mass, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for some Fondue. The kids watched a Christmas movie while the adults took their time eating fondue. It was fun.
Before we left Grandma's house to head home, Daddy checked on Santa's location on line. The kids were afraid that Santa would come and since they would not be in their beds sleeping he would not stop at our house. Once we had everyone in the van, Daddy called Santa to find out and ETA. The kids were thrilled about this and the next morning they reported to Grandma and Grandpa that Daddy called Santa on his cell phone.
Like I said, this Holiday season was so much fun. We all really enjoyed it. It is hard to believe that Christmas is already over but we have such fun memories that we will hold in our hearts forever.