After what seemed like months of hiding gifts and anticipating Christmas morning with the kids...the New Year is almost here. 2009 sounds so weird- especially considering that I was born way back in the 60's...ouch!

Ironically, Marie was the first one up, followed by her brother. After watching the older two stare at the tree for what seemed like hours, I meandered upstairs to wake the two year-old. I figured redemption was in order for all her past early morning arousals. At first, she wanted nothing to do with leaving her warm bed, but as soon as I mentioned the Santa word, little Sarah Kay jumped out and scooted down the hallway to see what he had left her under the tree.

Saying for months that she simply wanted a dolly for Christmas, I don't think she was disappointed as she opened her packages, complete with a high chair, baby doll accouterments, and a bunch of other toys that I don't even remember buying.

Josh was totally pumped when he and Marie opened up their Playstation Rock Band. I gotta tell ya...this is one addicting game. I've never been a big fan of Nirvanna, the Clash, and Weezer, but jammin' on their songs with this is nothing short of awesome. Both Josh and Marie prefer to play the drums, and I'm definitely hooked on the guitar, with little Sarah Kay leading the way on vocals.

Being a HUGE fan of my beloved Cavs (not sure when she got that from), Marie was pretty excited to get an autographed photo plaque of her favorite player, Boobie Gibson, who she'll get to see in person as we're also going to see them play this afternoon at the Q. The teenager is also an official member of the 24 fan club, complete with an array of 24 gifts...including a poster of the none other than Jack Bauer.

With all the packages opened, Josh found a letter under the tree addressed to him. It read that there was a special present for him and his daddy waiting downstairs...the Lionel train. This was the one gift this year that I was most excited about giving to my son. Having had one myself- given to me by Santa for Christmas when I too was 7- I had assembled it all for him the night before, combining the new set with some of my old cars and accessories. Thanks to Scott who had delivered the plywood a few days prior, the train was all set to go as Josh ran down the stairs to see what "the special gift" was. He and I are planning on heading over to Glen's train shop later this week to get a few more buildings; I'm waiting for the landscaping cover to arrive any day now, so I'll definitely post "updated pics" of the train as we add to our layout.

After playing for the Christmas Eve services at the Chapel, we headed down to Marietta the following morning to spend the day with Cindy's folks, and then had Christmas #3 with mine on Friday.