What a Very MERRY Christmas it was!

We are so blessed to have had such a wonderful Christmas and to have Evan home with us. We are truly thankful for each and every moment of it.

Evan was unlike a lot of children his age; he gladly sat with Santa Claus. It just so happened that we saw Santa Claus a few times in town too, twice at El Charros, once in Wal-Mart and at church with Am Ma and Am Pa. (Yes, Santa is watching…he seems to be everywhere). When it came time to sit in Santa’s lap we had to hold Evan back to wait his turn in line. He was very excited to sit in his lap, which he did on two different occasions. The first was when we went to have his picture made with Santa and the second was on our trip to ride the train at Stone Mountain.

We had a ball at Stone Mountain riding the train and seeing Santa. We took Wesley with us and we all had so much fun!

Evan loves to tell people Merry Christmas, which sounds a little more like
“Mere Kima” as he says it with a huge smile on his face!

Evan has been so excited about Christmas coming and in fact was beginning to grow quite impatient with Santa Claus. When asked what Santa was going to bring him, he would quickly reply “A choo-choo” and when asked what else he was going to bring, it would be… “A tractor and a truck.” We made sure Santa knew that was on his list. Just a few days before Christmas he told us that Santa was going to bring him “Some new Scrub-Scrub” (soap). How funny, is that!?! He wanted soap for Christmas. Santa Claus had to make up for the last two Christmases and boy did he ever. What Fun! One of his favorite gifts from Santa is “A Shave” (shaving kit). Evan now loves to shave with his Daddy using the play kit that Santa brought him. He thinks he is so big now. Christmas Eve he climbed up in his Uncle Brent’s lap and touched his face. Evan said “Owe, Go Shave”. What a mess, he is!

Another favorite toy is his choo-choo that he got…or I guess I should say, choo-chooS. He got a Thomas the Train set and train table from Mimi and Pops, another train set from Aunt Carman and Uncle Billy, one from Santa and a Thomas the Train Aqua Doodle from Momi. Needless, to say he got his Choo-Choo, but the neatest thing is that he knows who gave him which train. Yesterday, Clay pointed to the train set in his room and said, “Did Santa bring you your choo-choo?” He looked at Clay like he was crazy and said, “No Daddy, dat Mimi choo-choo, Ana Claus choo-choo in dare!” And he was exactly right the train that Santa brought him was in the other room. He also enjoys his John Deere Buck that Am Ma and Am Pa bought him though yesterday was really the only pretty day that we have had for him to be outside. When it is warmer he will really enjoy it. Evan already had a motorized Ford F150 that some friends gave him right when we got home. Yesterday, he rode in circles…one circle on his new Buck and one circle in his truck taking turns as not to upset the other one. Ha ha

Several people have asked us if he was overwhelmed at all (as many children who were adopted and new to home would be) but he was not at all. He loved every minute of it and had a ball. The funny thing is, I guess I should have been concerned about him possibly being overwhelmed but since he has adjusted so well it never even crossed our minds. Evan is a typical 2 ½ year old little boy, though he has been home for less than 8 months it is as if he has lived here all of his life. Everything about him is that way; his speech is even on target with other 2 year olds which seems to really please our pediatrician (and us too of course).

Of course, we know the true meaning of Christmas is not about Santa Claus and the gifts. Evan will quickly tell you that it is Jesus’ birthday. We bought a cookie cake and had Happy Birthday Jesus put on it and we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. Evan loved singing Happy Birthday and still sings it each day. As he sings… “to you” it sounds like “choo-choo”. It is so sweet and cute. Yesterday, when I put him down for his nap he started singing it when I walked out of the room, almost as if he was thinking… “Come on Mommy, how can you resist this?”

With Christmas being on a Sunday this year Clay was off Monday and his normall day on Tuesday. It was so nice to get to spend so many days together as a family. We began taking down the trees and other decorations...what a job that is. Evan had a thin 6 ½ foot tree with colored lights in his room with lots of ornaments that we made together and that he made at school. He loved his tree and I was a bit worried about how he might handle taking it down but like always he just moved with the flow. He was happy to help take the ornaments off for a few minutes, but then he sat down and started reading books while Clay and I finished. He can be very good at entertaining himself at times. Whenever he reads a book instead of saying The End, he says “Amen.” We enjoyed listening to him read and watching him so much as we took down the tree.

We had a wonderful Christmas and are so thankful to God for blessing us with it and for the birth of his son Jesus Christ. We continue to pray for all of the children and families waiting who weren't together during Christmas. We pray for you and we never forget about you.

Love,
Brandi