Christmas Day!

Our kids are now old enough that they let us sleep in until about 9:00 on Christmas morning. I like it! Ben told me at lunch on Thursday that Christmas just isn't as magical now as it was when he was younger. I agree! There's something about having young kids around, so excited for everything to happen that makes the time of year wonderful.
Nana, Papaw, and Richard got here just before 9:00 and we woke the kids up.
Tessa got a new bike and couldn't have been more excited. Savanah was surprised with...I don't know what, she pretty much knew everything she was getting. Ben was the same, except we got a tool box for his truck so he can store things back there without them getting wet in the rain. He didn't know about that.
After presents, we ate gingerbread pancakes with buttermilk syrup. (Thanks to Lori for the recipe, it was a hit!)


Then, we finished making a turkey dinner for a group of homeless people in Placerville and took it up the hill. Well, in reality, the family took it up the hill. I stayed home and finished our own turkey dinner. (No wonder I was tired at the end of the day! I fed 40 people on my own!)
The missionaries came for dinner at 2:00, then called their families. That was fun to be on the giving end of those phone calls. I loved being on the receiving end while Ben was in Mexico!
Tessa had friends to see and left at 1:30, so she missed dinner with the family. Someday, she'll need us....
It was a wonderful day! I did worry about Barbara, who had trouble breathing while she was here. Pleurisy? It's awful!