Christmas Day

We woke up Christmas morning to find that Santa came.  Someone was a very good boy this year!







We went right outside so he could ride his truck.





He needs a little practice.







One very happy boy!







We went back inside to open presents.

Stephen loves a cartoon called Caliou.  It's really the only cartoon he will watch.  So I got him a Caliou doll.





I think Stephen is going to be a lot like me.  When I open presents, I don't show my excitement.  I could be really, really excited, but I just don't show it like some people.  Stephen was the same way this Christmas.  I know he loved all his gifts, but he didn't really act super excited about anything.







































He got this hat in his stocking and loves it.



























After opening presents, we all got dressed and Stephen left to go pick up Steve.

When Steve was in the hospital, for about 5 weeks we didn't know if he was going to make it.  One day I started thinking about the upcoming holidays and I just didn't know how we would make it through them if Steve didn't make it.  It just made me so sad and I had to switch my thinking so I could work and be a good mom.  Otherwise, I would have just cried all day.

That day I started thinking about Christmas Day in a positive way.  I thought about Steve sitting in his chair in the living room with everyone around opening presents, laughing, eating, etc.  I just imagined it being the best day.  That night, Stephen came home and had a really bad day and he was really upset and so I told him to just think about Christmas Day.   I went through the whole day and how wonderful it would be.  I was already laying in bed when we were talking and after I told him all of that he looked at me across the bed.  I will never forget the look on his face.  He looked at me and said, "what if he isn't here on Christmas".  My heart just sank.  Just writing that and thinking about that night, makes me want to cry.  It was a very difficult time.  Watching my husband think he was going to lose his Father was heart breaking.

I had to stay positive for Stephen. He was at the hospital everyday and spent a lot of time there and it was difficult to stay positive when at the hospital so much because the reality of the situation was right there.  And the doctors never had any good news, so it was really hard.  To stay positive, I just thought about Christmas Day and how wonderful it would be.

As you all know, Steve was healed.  On Christmas he was in a rehab facility working on getting his strength back.  Thanks to some family friends, he was able to come home on Christmas Day with the help of a van that could transport him in his wheelchair.  

Since I had thought about this day so much, I felt pretty emotional all day.  Before right now, no one knows any of that.  I wanted to tell Steve that day how special of a day it was to me, but I knew I would be a crying mess and that would be embarrassing, so I didn't tell him.  Steve, I know you will read this and I just wanted you to know how special that day was to me.

Ok, now that's over with.  Onto the rest of our day!!







Stephen was totally overwhelmed by this point.  He barely opened two presents and then flat out refused to open any more.







He really just wanted to play with these skate boards and the tea set.









This little boy was so tired.  Lunch time was in the middle of nap time so he didn't get a nap that day.



After lunch, all the kids played outside the rest of the afternoon.









Someone is tired!



















We had a really great day!  Stephen was exhausted and fell asleep on the way home.



When we got home, he laid down on me and didn't move for about an hour.  He was totally exhausted. I was too!



What a wonderful Christmas we had this year!  I really don't have the words to explain just how grateful I am.  I learned a lot in the past few months and most of all I learned to be thankful for the time we have here together.  At the end of the day, all the stuff is just stuff.  Spending time together and making memories is what is most important.