It is with a grateful heart that I can report that today was as magical as I'd hoped. Just what I pictured. A nice, slow, tall drink of Christmas.
We slept in. Treated ourselves to a pipin' hot mug of cocoa. Then, we packed up the girls and headed downtown....to Macy's. We were trying to time things around Tulip's nap time and while that doesn't always pan out, this time it did. She slept the whole 45 minute drive and was chipper when we arrived.
Stood in line for about 20 minutes, but it didn't seem nearly that long since we ran into some old friends and spent the rest of the morning exploring Santaland with them.
First, we saw the North Pole dining room, where all the elves gather to eat. Across from that was Peach's favorite spot - the elves bedroom. She asked if we could wake them up, but when I told her that they needed their rest because they have a big night ahead of them, she nodded as if that made all the sense in the world.
next was the school room, where little elves learn to make toys and spread Christmas cheer
I loved the laun-tree, where elvish clothes are washed and hung out to dry.
the singing forest
and reindeer stable
right before we went into Santa's workshop, we met Mrs. Claus
This is the point where Peach just about jumped right out of her stroller
the letters...
Peach scanned the conveyor belt and piles of mail looking for her letter.
I all but had to pry her away, assuring her that the letter she wrote was in there somewhere and that Santa had read it.
and the candy factory....ooh, it was so sweet!
The candy cane machine was mesmerizing.
I even found some letters written to Santa from other parts of the world. Looked for one written in Spanish, but no luck.
Finally we entered the toy-makin' station.
And Peach just gave me this priceless look.
The one that says "thank you for making memories with me".
After we exited the display, we had a short wait to meet Santa himself.
Peach was speechless...which doesn't happen all that often.
She kept looking from him to me and then back to him like, "Is this really happening?"
She told him all about the angel that she wants and he said he'd see about getting his elves to make a special one for her.
Next, we went to the Moose-el-toe Lodge for a puppet show that was just precious.
We then had some lunch and treated ourselves to smoothies at Caribou Coffee before heading home.
Both girls napped on the way home, giving me a chance to stop by Target.
Everyone woke up in good spirits and before long, we were home.
Just in time for some more Christmas love.
We huddled around the tree to open our three gifts.
I didn't take any pictures because I really wanted to be there for our chat about Jesus and the wise men. And every once in a while, its good to just be fully present and not peeking out from behind my lens.
Once the sun went to sleep, we headed out to spread food for the reindeer.
I know that Christmas Eve is tomorrow, but we're doing our night-before-Christmas stuff tonight since we're leaving for grandma and grandpa's house tomorrow.
At one point, I glanced up to see our neighbors watching us out their window. Just smiling that knowing smile that says, "Love these moments...they'll be gone before you know it."
So, I drank it in a little more...the magic of tonight.
It would be so much better with snow. But, there are some things you just can't do a thing about.
We set out cookies and milk for Santa, read our favorite Christmas story and snuggled into a bed of sugar plum dreams.
Right now...the house looks like this.
And I am enchanted with the looking back on it all.
As I arranged everything under the tree just right and Hubby wrote Santa's letter to the girls, I wanted so badly to freeze today. Just make it last a little longer.
It was a day of Christmas love that I wish every child could have.
These are the days when I cherish the gift of motherhood a little more. When I settle my exhausted self down on the couch next to Hubby and whisper, "That was awesome..."
No comments:
Post a Comment