Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!  Once again, Santa was very good to our little ones. 

Will's gifts...tractors, books, buckets, magnets, a book bag and a bunny rabbit.

Sam's gifts...guns, boots, cowboy and Indian gear, camera, magic kit and a movie.

Jack's gifts...guns, boots, cowboy and Indian gear, camera, McDonald's cash register and a movie.

Gifts to share...outdoor garden tools, gas station, grill, mailbox...

and a grocery store.

Here they come!  Taking it all in...

Will's expression when he sees all his tractors is priceless.  He is amazed.

He wasted no time trying out his new equipment.

Sam learning how to work the chainsaw...

Taking a few pictures in the grocery store...

Safety first...

(Sam was trying to be funny in this picture.  I think this is a keeper and will likely be used as blackmail for years to come.)

Let your light shine, baby...

Going through their stockings...

(That's my joy baby.  Yes, he's that happy over a notebook.)

Finally, Will has his very own big boy riding toy.  He was thrilled.

So was his big brother...

Sam and Jack each had one specific request for Christmas.  Sam wanted a dog and Jack wanted a pig.  It's the only thing they asked for.  We made no mention of either and just waited to see how they would react.  We expected them to be disappointed and even thought Sam would pout over not waking up to find his dog waiting for him. We were pleasantly surprised to see that they were very happy and thankful for all the other gifts they received. We even asked them if were upset that they didn't get everything they asked for.  They both told us that they had really wanted a dog and a pig, but they were happy with all the toys Santa brought them.  After exploring all their inside toys, Jody went outside to bring the puppy in.  He had her under his shirt and Sam's reaction when he saw his Daddy's sweatshirt moving was priceless.

The moment he saw her was so special and something I hope to never forget.  I don't know that I've ever seen him happier.  When he reached out to hold her and realized this was real and she was his, his eyes welled up with tears. And when his eyes filled with tears, so did ours.

Meet Sayler.  Sam chose to name her after the first dog Jody and I had.  She was a chocolate lab and died before Sam was born.  He has heard Jody talk about her and he knew she was always Jody's favorite dog.  We were both surprised that Sam even remembered her name and think it is so sweet that he named his puppy after her.

Sayler decided to show off her barking skills to Will.  He was not amused.

Jack was so sweet to Sam and so genuinely happy for him to get his puppy.  There was no jealousy and no mention of the pig that Jack had asked for.  Jody asked again if the boys had gotten everything they'd asked for and Jack sweetly said, "Yeah, Daddy.  I got everything I wanted except for my pig."  Jody pulled two collars out of his pocket and asked why in the world Santa would have left two collars.  We went out to the garage to see if Santa left anything else that needed that collar.  He climbed in the back of the truck to look into the large plastic bin that we found sitting in the garage.

And then he saw her.  And he tried hard to contain his smile.

Meet Spot, who is named after the other pig, Spot, that Jack fell in love with over a year ago.  What happened to that Spot?  As Sam likes to tell everyone, "his Daddy got hungry and made her into bacon."  Rest assured, the new Spot will die of only old age or natural causes.  Jack has already devised a plan to find a Daddy Pig so they can have babies and he can sell the babies to his Daddy.  And because every company needs a name he announced that his company is to be called "The Jack Johnson Pig Company."

Will was amazed by the pig and runs around yelling, "Pig! Pig!" 

I'm just thankful he hasn't asked Jody to bring his favorite chicken up from the barn.  With a puppy and a pig currently living in our garage, the only thing missing is a chicken, right?