Christmas Miracle

When I was too old to expect Santa on Christmas Eve my mom and dad decided it was time to give back. My mom made my dad the most beautiful Santa suit for my dad and made me an elf costume. We would drive around on Christmas Eve and visit families in the ward and my friends. I was an Irish Elf, Killarny. My dad named me that because when "Santa got mad..he'd kill arny". (yep, we have issues). We had this beautiful 1955 Chevy Bel Air without a heater and with hand dyed seat covers. My mom would drive while dad and I spread Christmas joy. My mom would wait in the car huddled under multiple blankets. One of my favorite visits was to my friend Jennifer who we found eating Ramen Noodle with her hands right out of the package. We looked forward to it every year. We sold the car several years later but my dad and I did our Christmas errands up until I got married. Dad still plays Santa each year for the kids. It's a treasured memory.

Today while leaving the movie theater we saw Santa and Mrs. Claus driving an 1950's Red and White Chevy. I was stopped at a stop sign waiting my turn when he drove by. I let out a shriek and a tear came to my eye as Santa and Mrs. Claus waved at me. My kids thought I was nuts, they didn't understand for a moment that this to me was my Christmas miracle, a sign from my mom that she is here and watching over my family. This sweet couple dressed in costume have no idea that they made my Christmas

I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!

At least the title reflects how I feel about the whole blogging experience. I have become too lazy to upload pictures and too tired to figure out something creative to write and so here I find myself days between posts and the sad thing it is going to stay that way for a while. I do however want to answer a question that I have had a lot of people asked me. The Santa that came to my house for Christmas was actually my daddy.

When I was young my mom made him that beautiful suit and each Christmas I had the opportunity to be his elf while we visited friends and sometimes people who just needed to be cheered up. My name was Killarny. My dad is very proud of his Irish heritage and he wanted me to reflect that. The standard line he'd use when he would introduce me to people was, "and this is Killarny, we call her that because when she's bad we "kill" "arny". Kind of a morbid joke for Santa but then, you'd have to know my father. He sang me very interesting songs growing up and when I find myself singing them once in a while and my children will laugh and say, "that explains a lot about you mom."

So, the truly best part about my Christmas was that my daddy took the time to come to my home and play Santa to my children and for a brief moment when I sat on his lap I could remember when my mom made that suit and how wonderful our Christmas' were.

A Merry Christmas

I took a picture of Santa on Zach's lap but somehow it came out a bit too blurry.
Kaitlyn loves Santa so much. She asked for a snowglobe which was a complete shock to all around her and it resulted in a last minute rush to Walgreens.
That sweet girl could not stop smiling all of Christmas.
Jacob had been plotting out a plan to capture Santa. Imagine his surprise when Santa showed up earlier than he expected.