Merry Christmas from the Povah's!

So, Christmas has come and gone already this year, and the Povah children had an amazing holiday. We started our Elf of the Shelf on Thanksgiving night, so Diddle (our elf) flew to Santa every evening to give him a report of their behavior. Each morning the kids would wake up and look for him (he lands in a new spot each day). Even Aiden would say, "Where's Diddle?" You can't touch Diddle or he will lose his magic, so all three kids reminded us of that everyday to not touch him. They love that little elf and are already excited to see him again next Christmastime.

Christmas Eve was fabulous. We went to mass at 3 pm (and we lasted 3/4 of the way through the service). The kids were all over the place, but we tried :) After church, we came home and opened presents with Papa, Brendan and Leigh. The kids got new bikes, princesses, trains, a sled, movies and Notre Dame clothes and stocking hats. Chris, Melissa and Taylor came down in time for dinner and the kids exchanged gifts then we ate dinner. I had a lasagna recipe a physician gave me that his wife uses (it's an authentic South Side Italian recipe) that called for homemade sauce....I made it and it was pretty good, maybe a little too salty for my taste, but still good. We (not the kids) drank wine and had a blast.

Christmas morning the kids came running out of their rooms to see if Santa ate his cookies and drank his milk (he did) and to see their presents. Aubrey got the movie "Tangled" which was what she's been asking for since Disney on Ice. Aiden got some blocks and Owen got "Toy Story" which we have all seen 10 times now. Their big gift was a train set and table from Santa. They also got numerous other gifts from us, but they're so stinkin' spoiled, I can't even list them all out. Papa, Gwen, Great-Grandma Margaret, Brendan and Leigh came over for brunch around 10 a.m. After that, we all took naps :) then headed to Mimi and Papa Mark's house. The kids got crazy spoiled, but had a blast! They came home with new clothes, an easel, drum set, play tent, cars, dolls...etc! Overall, it was a great Christmas and we can't wait until next year!