Our family is incredibly blessed to start Christmas morning with the thing that means the most, behind Jesus of course, and that is family. Ever since the boys first Christmas, both of Jon's parents, both of my parents, and my sister, her boyfriend, and my nephew all come over first thing Christmas morning before the boys even wake up. They are here to see the boys stumble out of their beds and up to the Christmas tree. They stay to open presents and to have a big Christmas morning breakfast with us. Having our whole family together to share in the love and excitement of the boys' Christmas has become one of my favorite traditions.
My other favorite tradition that started when the boys joined us is daddy's homemade Christmas gift. Each year, he makes a secret gift for the boys. The first two years, I had no idea that he was making something. He "lied" to me about having to stay late at school for days on end to finish up grading papers and lesson planning. He then admitted his total and utter fear that I would know he was lying but think that he was out having an affair or something! It was quite comical- because clearly he had too much of a guilty conscious to ever even consider having a real affair :) On the other hand, I was so clueless that it became a family joke that he could have an affair it he wanted too because I wouldn't ever notice! Anyways, this year I knew he would be making something so it wasn't a total secret- although I had no idea what he was up to. I just knew that he was going into school at 4:30am, staying late most days, and staying up until midnight for the the entire week leading up to Christmas to finish. While he was making something truly amazing for the boys that consumed much of his time, I had no idea that he was pulling the wool over my eyes once again!
So needless to say, I was wholly surprised when there was a big box for me under the tree. Jon and I had decided not to exchange gifts this year- we wanted to be able to spend that money on the boys instead of ourselves. So the box was a surprise- but what was inside was truly unforgettable. If you haven't read the Bear Snores On children's series by Karma Wilson, I highly recommend you march your little fingers over to Amazon.com and order a copy of all eight books. They are adorable and wonderful and the illustrations are just stunning. In Bear Stays Up for Christmas, Bear's friends make him a quilt "just his size" and a month or so ago I had mentioned to Jon while reading to the boys at bedtime how I wished I could have someone make me Bear's quilt. So he did. My wonderful husband learned how to quilt, and in the weeks leading up to Christmas he made me an exact replica of Bear's quilt- except that it was just my size- king size for our bed! It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and that didn't even take into account the love that went into it. To think of what he went through to give me that gift just melted my heart, and I feel that way each night when I wrap up in my new quilt :)
But that wasn't all! He still had the boys' handmade gifts under the tree!! He had found two old 1960's pedal car tractors, stripped them down, and refinished them to look like Grampy's 1953 Ford Jubilee tractor that the boys love so much! They were absolutely beautiful. His attention to detail just amazes me. Here are a few pictures of this year's gifts as well as a recap of the things he's made for the last two Christmases. I truly am the luckiest woman alive!!!!
Merry Christmas from the Paddock Family!!
Who knew my amazing husband could quilt?!?!
The boys opening daddy's gift
So excited!
Matty taking his tractor for a spin
Caleb's turn!
2011- Handmade wooden excavators (the boys were in a construction phase!)
2010- Schroeder's Piano (Jon and I met during our 2nd/4th grade production of You're A Good Man Charlie Brown- Jon was Schroeder and I was Woodstock!)
2010- Because the boys were only 3 months old for their first Christmas, Jon made this for their first birthday (when we had gotten a few nights worth of sleep!) It is a wagon, made of wood milled from the Paddock Brothers Sawmill, modeled after the 1933 Ford Stake Trucks at Greenfield Village. Truly amazing- still turns heads literally everywhere we go!
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