Christmas Day at the Thompson House

The day started with NyCee helping her dad open his gift to him from her. It was a bottle of Sean John Unforgivable cologne. I think she had more fun opening it than he did.

Lewis went to pick up the twins and Taylor had more fun helping them open their gifts also.

Later in the day, I turned the workout room into the play room. My sister-in-law along with her boyfriend and children came over. My mother-in-law joined shortly after. Lewis played a game named elefun with the kids.

Next onto dinner. Lewis did not want the tradition dinner so I made, roast in gravy, macaroni and cheese, cabbage, cornbread, and black eyed peas. Also, I made my first sweet potato pies. They were really good. Okay, I admit it. Lewis and I did not wait until dinner to try the pie. We ate a slice at 2:30a.m while watching Miracle on 34th street.

I was finally able to capture a picture of Lewis with all three of his girls. Isn't he the proud papa? Just look at him beam.

NyCee stood out above all the other festivities. Again, I mean that literally. Notice that she is standing all by herself. Man, I really need her to slow down. She just started crawling. What's next? Working a 9 to 5, driving, and dating. Oh my goodness, my little girl is growing up way too fast.

When the evening came to an end, I called my mother and had the following conversation:

D: "Ma, How have you done this for 20 plus years? I am so tired."

M: (Laughter) "You just wait. The fun has not yet begun."

D: "I have had about 4 hours of sleep. I didn't go to bed until 4:00am and woke up at 7:00am to put on my meat. We have opened gifts and played. We did it all. I laid out nice clothes for me to put on and I have on jeans and a tee-shirt."

M: "Now you know why in every Christmas picture, I look crazy. Between trying to put together the toys, start cooking, finish cooking, and reading directions, I didn't have time to get dressed."

D: "Well, I just want to say "Thank you" from me and my siblings. I never knew that so much was involved in Christmas when you have children. I will pay the store to have Taylor's toys assembled because I can not imagine how to fit that into the picture."

M: "I doubt if Lewis will pay to do that since he wouldn't pay to have the dining room set put together."

We both laughed and said "Good night."

This first Christmas with NyCee brought back a flood of memories from my childhood. Several times during the day, I just sat and smiled to myself. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.