We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas here in Iowa City. While we wish we could have been surrounded by more family, we were grateful for the chance to spend this special day with our little family. Jackson awakened me at 5 a.m. that morning ready to embrace all the day offered. He was so excited when he saw the Christmas tree. He wanted to touch all of the ornaments then saw one of his presents sitting underneath the tree - a shiny red Retro Rocket with a red bow wrapped around it. He started to do a little dance and said "OOOOH." I wished my parents could've shared that moment with him since it was a gift from them. We played for a couple of hours together then awakened Jason and our wonderful au pair Theresa for breakfast and to open some gifts. We decided to let Jackson only open a few gifts that day and to spread the rest of them out over time. It's been a great way to make these long winter days seem a little shorter when he gets to open a gift and play with it. Even baby Kate received a couple of presents though she's not yet born: her blessing dress and a couple of baby memory books. Lucky little girl :) Our Christmas dinner turned out well (calming my fears that the ham would be a disaster as I hadn't ever cooked a ham before). Jackson and Theresa enjoyed playing in the snow making snow angels (Theresa is from Australia and it was her first time playing in the snow). I love Christmas and the special spirit that comes with this holiday that is centered around the birth of Jesus Christ. One of my most cherished memories of this Christmas season was introducing Jackson to our modest Nativity set. He loved the donkey (so much so that he dropped it and broke off one of its ears) and holding baby Jesus. He would often run into the living room and say "Jesus" and point to it. Those were tender moments I hold closely in my heart - knowing that my little boy loves Jesus and was so excited to visit with him each day.
