Santa '08

Tanner and Faith started screaming the instant Santa walked into the room. All eyes were on our family as Brian, Mom, and I tried our best to calm them down as they screamed things like, "I WANT TO GO OUTSIDE !" and "NO SANTA!!" Seriously, it was like they had just seen the most hideous and terrifying monster imaginable. Faith decided to deal with the situation by falling asleep on Nana's shoulder for the duration. Tanner sat on my lap and kept repeating, "Mom, I never have to sit on Santa's lap, right? Never ever? Ever? Never? Right, Mom? Promise? Really promise? For real?"

Santa called Jake's name first so he went up to get his gift and candy cane, smiled for the picture, and loved every second of it. He's always liked Santa so his brother and sister's response was an enigma to him.

Tanner continued with his rant as Brian and I debated whether or not to take him up there. He didn't want to go with Jake. Didn't want to go with me or Nana. And he didn't want to go with Daddy. Still, when his name was called, Brian picked him up and brought him to the side of Santa's chair. He cried for a second, then took the gift from Santa and even smiled. I was desperately trying to take a picture of this but was ultimately unable since the camera battery had died. I am pretty sure this was karma for forcing my son to confront his fear of people dressed up in character suits- all in the name of a "Merry Christmas".

Faith woke up in time for her name to be called and Brian took her up there, too. She screamed bloody murder and refused to even look in Santa's direction, choosing instead to bury her head in Brian's shoulder. She was shell shocked for the next half hour, recovering on Nana's shoulder, half asleep.

The therapy bills for Christmas '08 are gonna be huge.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Please forgive us for the Christmas card you are about to receive.
It may be irreverent but it is also how about 98% of people feel when they realize it is already "that time of year again" so we are only saying what everyone else is thinking (along with Peace on Earth, joy, love, happiness, etc.... of course!)