twas the night before Christmas...

and all through the house... not a creature was stirring - because we were all so exhausted! The four of us have been combating the common cold for a few weeks now - each taking a turn to care for another, and on Christmas Eve, we were all yearning for a miracle. Poor Mom was so sick at our holiday party last night, that the flu flared up her arthritis and she could barely stand to walk. Among all of us celebrating last night, 3 of us were on antibiotics and we later learned that Mom had pneumonia! So we took it easy Christmas Eve, and spent some time curled up by the fireplace watching Christmas movies on TV.

And just when we thought we couldn't feel any worse, it started to snow! Snow! Snow! In Texas - where just yesterday we were sporting 70 degrees! Earlier in the month, when Ava kept asking me "when is Christmas?" I responded, "when it snows" - not giving it a second thought. And here we are, like a Christmas story miracle, watching the snow fall so delicately.... everywhere!



By sunset, I realized that I had forgotten about the snow. It had actually stuck this time, and I was saddened for Ava and Noah watching TV all day - not having the chance to "play" in it - and more than likely, by morning, it would be gone. So I mustered up some energy to salvage what was left of Christmas Eve, got dressed and Aaron followed cue. We opened up a personalized xmas package we received from our neigbors, which included 4 mugs and the makings of smores and hot chocolate - which hit all the right spots...









We did an art project with the kids - the holiday masks left over from the other night - and gave it a coat of paint... and cotton balls...














And then we headed outdoors to pay homage to the wonder of fallen white snow...






And just like the cartoon characters from her favorite shows, Ava fell to the ground and made a snow angel [smile].



Noah brought out his fire truck - to free the rocks buried in the snow... and Ava nuzzled with a snow ball, realizing how cold she really is...





We headed indoors shortly - much to the children's disappointment, but were able to enjoy the last of the roaring fire before preparing for bedtime... and Christmas morning.