Christmas is done. The month-long build up has reached its climax and I don’t quite seem to know what to do with myself. It saddens me to think that the Christmas tree will be coming down within the next week, yet I am ready to move on to January and all that the new year will bring – more exercise yadda, yadda, yadda.

As has been the case with Christmases past, I took very few photos. I just find it very difficult to work with the lighting in the depths of winter and I prefer to be in the moment rather than behind the camera – although I did spend a lot of time trying not to place my large rear in full view of Kei’s video camera setup.

Thomas woke early on Christmas day and the poor kid had to wait a full 30 minutes or so before Samuel woke up and we were able to head downstairs. Santa was good to both boys this year with a Melissa and Doug castle for Samuel and a Fire Station Lego set for Thomas. This was really the first Christmas that Samuel understood the concept of opening presents and, after a quick tutorial from his brother, he jumped right in.

Of course Thomas is already a pro.

After opening all of our presents, grabbing a quick nap (for all four of us) and catching up with our families in Ohio and Australia via Skype, we finally settled down to eat a massive hunk of meat and some delicious glazed carrots, complete with the Thomas seal of approval. Oh, and my apologies in advance to any vegetarians who may be stopping by the blog.

For Christmas I received a brand new Canon Speedlight Flash for my camera from my wonderful husband so next year I’ll be tasked with taking some *good* Christmas photos next year. For now I’m focused on finding a space for the new toys and disposing of a pile of wrapping paper that threatens to overtake the living room.

Oh, and I head back to work tomorrow. Now it seems Thomas isn’t the only one praying for snow instead of rain.