Christmas Morning

Oh, the excitement of Christmas morning. Jeff and I love it as much as the kids! It is always important for us to balance the fun of Santa and the real reason for the holiday. This year we ate breakfast together and watch the animated story of Jesus' birth after Santa came and we opened family presents.

Jared bought Lucas a blue frog at the Christmas store at school. It was a big hit since his favorite color is blue (because Thomas the Tank Engine is blue.)

My two girls were so cute together.

Jared got two new X-Box games from Santa.

Santa brought Claire new shoes so she would stop taking her sister's.

Santa brought Lucas "Lightning McQueen Ice" - that's what he calls the ice pack. It was his favorite gift.

Jared and Leah bought me the same ring at their school Christmas store. I am so lucky!

Christmas Eve

The Anderson family tradition is to eat Christmas dinner and then read the Christmas Story in the Bible (Luke 2:1-19). Nonni and Bobpa joined us as we also read the "Homer Story," which always results in tears. It is a special story for the Anderson boys since it is about the joy of being happy for your brother...

I knew that Homer had wanted canyon boots for as long as I could remember. He was eleven and I ten, and we had spent many nights under the blue quilts at the cabin talking about how great it would be to have some real boots - boots that would climb through thorny bushes, that would ward off rattlesnakes, that would nudge the ribs of the pony; we had planned the kind of leather they should be and what kind of decoration they should have. But we both knew it was just talk.

The depression had been hard on Father's business, and even shoes for school were usually half-soled hand-me-downs. Christmas that year had promised as always to be exciting, though mainly because of the handmade things we'd worked on in school for our parents. We never had money to spend on each other, but we had caught early in our lives a sort of contagion from our mother. She loved to give, and her anticipation of the joy that a just-right gift would bring to someone infected our whole household. We were swept up in breathless waiting to see how others would like what we had to give. Secrecy ruled - open, exaggerated secrecy - as we made and hid our gifts. The only one whose hiding place we never discovered was my Grandmother's. Her gifts seemed to materialize by magic on Christmas morning and were always more expensive than they should have been.

That Christmas I was glowing because Mother had been so happy with the parchment lamp shade I'd made in the fourth grade, and Father had raved over the clay jewelry case I had molded and baked for him. Gill and Emma Lou had been pleased with the figures I'd whittled out of clothespins, and Homer had liked the Scout pin I'd bargained for with my flint. Then Grandma started to pass out her presents. Mine was heavy and square. I'd been in the hospital that year and then on crutches, and I'd wondered how it would be to have an Erector set to build with. Grandma had a knack for reading boys' minds, and I was sure that's what it was. But it wasn't. It was a pair of boots: brown, tangy-smelling leather boots.

I looked quickly to Homer's package. His was a sweater. He'd needed one all fall. I wanted to cover my box before he saw what it was. I didn't want the boots; they should have been his. He came toward me, asking to see, and I started to say, "I'm sorry, bruv."

But he was grinning, and he shouted, "Hey everybody! Look what Richard's got!" He swooped the boots out of the box, fondled them like treasure, and then sat on the floor at my feet to take off my half-soled shoes and put on the brand new boots.

I don't remember how the boots felt, nor even how they looked. But Christmas rang in my soul because my brother was glad for me.

We were also lucky enough to have a special visit from Santa. The kids were so excited to talk with him. He knew what each of them liked and hinted at what he had planned for them.

Leah in "The Little Lost Kitten"

The kindergarten classes put on a play called "The Little Lost Kitten." It is about a mother cat trying to find her kitten by asking different animals if they have seen her. Leah was a duck.

Like her older brother, Leah definitely loves to be in front of an audience.

A Boy's Best Friend

We always wanted Jared to have a dog. With his boundless energy and love for animals, we knew it would be a perfect match. Duke has been a perfect friend for him. Jared is an avid reader, and we often find him laying with his dog while he reads in the afternoon.

Decorating the Tree

The Christmas music is blaring, the ladder is out and the kids are bouncing off the walls with excitement. Our tree is twelve feet high so the kids and I are the handers and Jeff is the ladder guy. Claire was sleeping since this project can be a little difficult for small hands.

More Cuddling with Duke

I walked in the living room and found Leah watching TV with Duke. She had covered him with a blanket. They are so sweet together.

Then her little sister came in and ruined the moment.

Thanksgiving with the Schultzes

It has become a Schultz family tradition to celebrate Thanksgiving on the beach in Capitola. We eat at Zelda's and then we have pie on the sand. Every year the weather is amazing. It is often cool when we leave San Jose but once we drive over the hill, the sun is out and it is time to break out the swim suits.

Lucas and Claire love to play in the sand.

Jared with his cousin Branden building sandcastles after a competitive game of football with Jeff.

Leah with her cousin Sidney. They are only 11 months apart.

My parents with Loni and Steve hanging out on the beach watching the kids - the adults don't break out their swimsuits. We all have a great time enjoying each other's company. It is easy to be thankful for where you live when you celebrate Thanksgiving at the beach!