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a gem of a morning

I really can't remember the last time I was the only one up at 7:27am. This is so rare and such a treat...I barely know what to do. I was even able to make coffee without waking Maddie. Oh, Merry Christmas to me!

I L-O-V-E our xmas tree. I love every tree we have every year and I feel the same this year. Ours is fake, of course (being in this country), but it's a good fake. And I'm just so glad we had the insight to bring along all our precious ornaments from over the years. We've had more xmas in other lands than we have in America so it makes sense that we'd take ornaments along with us rather than making them stay behind in our hometown. But that's not always one of those things you think of at the time when you're packing up all that is precious to you.

Maddie and Phil went xmas shopping for me yesterday. Maddie is surprisingly good at not sharing secrets. I asked her yesterday something related to her time out with Phil and her reply was, "You don't need to know that." Phil just smiled. I could tell she had been prepped.

With all the gift love we receive from family and friends we don't need to buy anything for our girls for xmas. Back a few months ago I had already bought Madeleine 2 China teacups with saucers. She loves having real tea with me in the afternoons. When I saw the dainty flower pattern and gold trim I knew I had to get it for her. Yesterday, I had a cup of Lady Gray (thanks, Mom!) and shared it with Maddie. She said, "What kind of tea is this? It's really good." I love having a 4 year old (most of the time).

Lily is awake. She has started calling me rather than just crying in the mornings. She says, "Maamee". It's very sweet and not easy to ignore.

Merry Christmas!

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