I’m *finally* getting up a few photos of our first Christmas in Oklahoma. It was a bit of an adjustment this year, trying to figure out where to put the tree and decorations and how to arrange things so our family from afar could be comfortable. I think everything came together just fine. It was a busy, but very blessed time of year for us.

Some of the kids before we opened any gifts.

Lauren was wanting a hoodie. 🙂

Great-Grandma got the older kids these whistles-slash-flashlights.

Grandma (Kathy) made the little girls these adorable ponchos!

It’s no surprise that they wear them all. the. time. 🙂

My in-laws bought Matt a Navy SEAL outfit. He was adorable!

He’s a natural. 😉

Look at that face. *sigh* Why must they grow up so quickly?

Each of the kids bought everyone else a gift, using money that others gave them for Christmas. It touched my heart! Mitch gave his dad string cleaner for his guitar.

Bro. Terry (my father-in-law) bought the perfect gift for his wife: an iPad mini!

I think this is my favorite photo from our Christmas Day festivities. 🙂

Matt got more guns! Oh boy. 😉

Yep. Mitch bought his brother yet another gun. Matt uses them all equally, though.

Great Grandma got a cover for her iPad from my in-laws. She had been needing one for a while.

Great Grandma shocked me and Terry with this WONDERFUL Bunn coffee maker!!! I bless her name each and every morning. (And many afternoons, too.)

Grandma and Granddad bought remote control helicopters for the older kids! I think they liked them?

The little girls were pretty happy to get the Barbie and her sisters Camper trailer!

Laci was so happy that Grandma got her a Doc McStuffin kit.

Terry and I bought the older kids digital cameras.  They’ve been taking photos of *everything* so I guess that means they like them.

Yes, they definitely like them. 🙂

Bro. Terry and my Terry got a book about George Washington from Great Grandma.

Laci spent a good portion of her birthday money to buy this Barbie closet for Leslie. Another sweet Christmas moment.

As I was going through these photos, I realized that I don’t have any of myself and the gifts I received. I got a zoom lens from my husband, which was a wonderful surprise! We went out on our anniversary and took lots of photos on the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge using my new lens. I was blessed with lovely gifts from my in-laws, mother, Grandma Basham, and each of my kids. I was touched by each one. I am amazed at how such a rotten sinner like myself could be loved so much. I’m not just saying that, either. I often fail my husband and my children. I lose my temper, I complain, I can be lazy and on and on. Yet these wonderful people overlook my failings and love me anyway. They are daily a picture of Christ and His love for me, right here on planet Earth.

I suppose the gift that touched my heart the most was from Leslie Anne, my middle child, who is eight. She made me a bookmark, because she knew, (and as you probably know, too) that I love to read whenever I have a free moment. She used special decorations on it and put much time into it. She had also drawn a picture for me with a sweet poem . She had hidden these items carefully under her bed since October! My heart overflowed in the form of tears down my cheeks.

It touched me because that is exactly what Christmas is all about – sacrificial giving from the heart.

With love,