Where did it go?

All too fast Christmas has come and gone!  We had a wonderful celebration.  It all happens so fast though, so much preparation goes into in and then in what seems like an instant-it is over.  But that is how it goes I guess. 
Bella was a lot of fun this year.  She had been so excited that sleep had eluded her.  We would go up to check on her, only to find her in bed wide awake just grinning from ear to ear!
Christmas Eve we went to the Children's Service at church.  That began at five and boy was it noisy!  The sanctuary was crowded and the excitement was palpable.  The two children's choruses sang and two of our youth members played the piano-it was joyous!  The best part was the Children's Sermon though.  We were seated close to the front so were able to see the children and how they interacted with the pastor.  Bell just sat there and stared up at him.  He read a book titled The Christmas Story and the illustrations in it were beautiful!  It made an impression on Bella though, because she talked about it later and remembered that we were celebrating the birth of Jesus.  We stopped by McDonald's on the way home to get Bella some chicken nuggets becaue she was exhausted and anxious to get to bed.  Jim brought her out a childrens cone and she was delighted with it.  He asked her how it was and she replied "My tastebuds are dancing!"  Michelle asked "They are dancing?" and she said "Yes, they're dancing the merenge!"   Anyway, when we got home we all opened our p.j.s and got Bella in bed.  I didn't last much longer than Bella as I was still feeling poorly. 
Christmas morning I awoke to the sound of our little one excitedly telling Michelle that Santa had come and he had even been in her room.  He left a ZhuZhu pet under her tree and a small ornament of Santa kneeling before the baby Jesus.  She was sooooooooo excited!  Jim and Timmy were already up and waiting for us, so we all went downstairs and armed with cameras, we let her come down.  Santa had indeed left a few things for her under the tree!  She laughed, explored and played for quite a while, discovering each little gift that had been left for her.  Then we all gathered around the table for breakfast.  After we had cleaned up, we went to the living room to open gifts.  We were able to drag that out for most of the morning, by which time we were all ready for a nap!  It was a wonderful day!!
Saturday we piled in the car and headed up to PA to visit Jim's brother, sister and nephew and continue with the celebration.  That too was great.  Bill has a puppy who was fascinated by Bella and she loved him too!  It was fun watching them play together. 
Sunday my Dad and Marlena came down to visit and left on Monday.  There just never seems to be enough time to visit with our families!  It all goes way to quickly!  Dad and MAr are now on there way down to Florida where they will remain until after the winter thaw. 
I'll have pictures up in the next day or two.  Until then....