Christmas Day

In the morning, the kids woke us up at 7:05. Rob wanted another half hour of sleep, but was outvoted. We woke up Joss too and opened the doors to the living room:
Will with the wind up lederhosen from his stocking.
Joss exclaiming over the candy and toys in his.

We began to open presents, then Rob called us to the dining room table where there was a box at my chair. The box had a skein of yarn in it, and the yarn led to a Scooby Doo sheet down in the basement.
This was under the sheet!
It's a painting we commissioned from our friend Darren Breen of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin The objects in the foreground are all symbolic of things from our experiences there, right down to the snowball (a border skirmish with tower guards while Rob was on his mission) and the Trabi's license plate (the initials and date that our friend Heidi Grathwohl died). John and Tania were graciously letting us interrupt their Christmas downstairs, so I was showing her the other lithographs we had up of Darren's. Then I turned around and saw this:
A piano! Rob bought us a piano! Everyone else was in on it. Parents, aunts, friends were all called in to give advice, help with logistics, run me out of the house when it was delivered, and move it out of a closet Christmas Eve. Turns out that he sold a pocket watch for a very Gift of the Magi Christmas.
The kids also had their share of surprises with toys and games and this aquarium. They've since populated it with five neon danios, two tetras, and one orange molly. It was a big hit and a popular nightlight. We had a wonderful day.
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Comments

jenlinmin said…
Love the painting. LOVE the piano! And love the benadryl. I'm going to have to seriously consider that tactic next year!!!
Angela said…
Neat aquarium. Where did you get it?
Zina said…
What a pretty piano! And what a feat to surprise you. I love Christmas. (Why does it have to end so soon?)
Lois said…
That is one awesome painting! Glad to see it on your wall and not mine anymore!
Jennette said…
All of it great! And congratulations on the piano--what a highly memorable Christmas.

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