Christmas

I'm still a bit to surprised when I stop to think that this is our third Christmas with Sam. I can recall a couple of Christmases, in particular, when I just wasn't sure that we'd ever have a child to prepare for Santa's visit and watch as he or she ripped into gifts on Christmas morning.

Sam TOTALLY *got* Christmas this year. We faithfully opened the right day on the Advent calendar every day, talking about the fact that Jesus' birthday was coming. We sent a letter (and got an actual reply from "elves" in Santa Claus, Indiana!) to the Big Guy. We baked cookies. We decorated the house...even a tree in Sam's room. We counted "sleeps" until Santa left gifts to open. We talked about what gifts we'd give others we love. It was awesome.

The very best moment had to have been as David, Noel and the kids left on Christmas Eve... Wait. That sounded bad. Them leaving was not the fun part. The fact that we stood outside to wave goodbye when Sam spotted Santa's sleigh in the sky was the prize-winning moment. He yelled "I SEE SANTA!!! I SEE SANTA!! THERE HE IS!!!" so loudly that I'm sure any neighbor who was actually at home heard the commotion. I'm fairly sure you get just one of those totally magical moments when the anticipation is almost palpable.

Rob and I left for church just after the "sighting," talking the whole way about how amazing it was to witness Sam's joy. He stayed home with Nonni and Beth and baked special cookies for Santa before going to bed. For us, while it wasn't planned, it turned out to be nice to experience the candlelight service by ourselves. We missed having our moms with us, but it was sweet to just have some quiet time together.

Sam's been a bundle of energy since coming home from school on Friday night, so we spent today in our jammies and playing with our new toys. Sam is actually looking forward to going to see his friends tomorrow, so Rob and I will have a "date day," running after Christmas errands and doing some of the returning that is best done sans preschooler.

In other news... we had our first homestudy visit for our next adoption this week. We loved our new social worker. She was great about giving us all the new information on the process. I'm used to the agency giving us the longest timeline possible, so as not to set false expectations. Allison told us that there is a possibility we might have another child home next Christmas. I don't think it's likely, but the fact that it's even remotely possible is exciting. That left us to talk baby names again today. I think we're back to agreeing on a boy's name, but not so convinced about a girl's name. I am sure we still have time to ponder some more.