Christmas Best and Worst

The Best is easy. This year all on her own Grace decided to give Julia a present. I'm not one to force Christmas gift giving on my kids. I figure it's more work for me, so until they express a desire to give a gift they are off the hook. I remember an episode of Jon and Kate Plus 8 where they took the entire brood into Toys R Us to buy presents for each other--that's my version of hell. If you lovingly gift wrap presents from your newborn to other family members, more power to you. I'm a wimp in that department. Still, in early December Grace informed me that not only did she want to get a gift for Julia, she would buy it with money from her piggy bank. God, I love that kid. The gift she wanted to purchase? A piggy bank for her sister to be decorated by Grace. Now, I had to drive at least 40 miles to track one down in paintable condition (curse you Michael's of Macon), but the result was worth it:


And that's not even the best part. The absolute best was watching Grace on Christmas morning. The stockings were great. The remote control car from Santa was awesome, but all she really wanted to do was give Julia her present. Unbeknownst to Craig or me, she had set money aside so that when Julia opened the box, she would have something to deposit into the bank.


We didn't give either kid a gift as great as the one Grace made for her sister. On top of that, she made me proud, which is a really greatest gift I could receive.

So what's The Worst? Christmas aftermath, as usual. Candy and cookies and presents and extended family and lack of sleep and lack of exercise and did I mention candy? Our kids were maniacal dictators by the time the last family member left. Our house looks like a tornado hit it. The girls won't stop fighting, and I can't leave because my husband is in a gimpy state. That's the worst, and I can guarantee that next year will be the same. Another thing I can guarantee: it will be worth it, every single minute.

Hope you all had a great holiday.