Christmas was great!

With all of us off from school and work last week, I didn't get on the computer much, thus the lack of blogging. But I wanted to post some pictures of our week.

William showing his enthusiasm for Christmas

On the Friday before Christmas we let William skip school, and we went to the Georgia Aquarium. It was awesome!

We followed that up with lunch at The Varsity downtown... yum!

William helped me bake some things during our break, including cookies and pecan pies. He's such a good helper, even when it's time to clean up.

We also had fun making a gingerbread house.

We attended our church's Christmas Eve service...

Then went home and had Chinese takeout for dinner (fa ra ra ra ra...). This was our first year to do this, but I have a feeling it might become a new tradition. It was delicious, and so much less stressful than cooking a huge meal.

After that, we opened gifts. William's big item from us was a Wii, and he was totally surprised and excited.

This was his expression as he realized what he was opening. I love that I was able to capture his excitement in the photo.

Christmas morning began with William placing baby Jesus in the manger, a reminder of what this season is really about.

Then it was on to see if Santa came... and he did!

William asked Santa for a Wii, Star Wars legos, Operation, and some surprises. We'd already let Santa know we'd be giving William a Wii, so that left Santa plenty of room for some good surprises.

William was especially surprised to find several things he'd eyed at stores recently: Kung Fu Panda, another Light Sabre, and Star Wars Legos game for Wii. In addition, Santa knew how much he needed a new soccer ball and shin guards. Santa also obviously knew how much William enjoyed his weekend with Mouse, because William now has his very own Mouse!

After playing with all the gifts for a while, we went for brunch at Zack's parents' house. Then it was back to our house, and my mom & family came over for dinner and gifts.

Then on Saturday we went to my brother's house and got together with my dad and his wife.

It was a great Christmas, and we are thankful for all the lovely gifts we got (I was super excited about my I*Pod Touch!). But most importantly, we are thankful for God's gift of His only son, sent to be born of a virgin, so that He could die, so that we could live. That's the best gift of all!

We pray that you and your family had a wonderful Christmas too, and that 2009 will bring happpiness and peace. And if you haven't already, may this be the year that you accept God's free gift of salvation, the gift that first came wrapped up in the form of a newborn baby.