Y'all Hush: Merry Christmas To All, And To All A Good Night

Hey y'all -

On Christmas Eve, Dad and Laney made brownies, and ate a large percentage of the batter off of their fingers and the spatula. One day, they will get salmonella and I will say, "HA! Yes! I told you!" right before rushing them to the hospital.

We set up a beautiful table for the arrival of Peg Peg and Tex, and had crab cakes and boiled shrimp and Grandma Sue made a honey-glazed ham.

To all of you who had "Never" in the "When will the Burbachs' tree fall this year?" betting pool, you win. Fun fact: The oldest ornament on the tree was this "Baby's First Christmas" ornament from 1976. It's hung right next to the more recently-acquired Ornery Lobster Of Old Age ornament

The kids went to sleep, and Santa dropped by almost immediately. By prior agreement, Santa had stored all of his gifts for you in our basement in those cardboard flats from Costco, so the whole process from bare tree to Toys R' Us showroom took five minutes or less.

Laney, who has made a career out of getting the whole house up at 5am, actually slept in for the first time in her life on Christmas morning, 'til finally the grandmas couldn't take it anymore and went into her room to wake her up around 7:30am.

Laney had left Santa some cookies and some milk in a sippy cup, "so he won't spill." Rudolph got a few carrots. In return, Santa had left her a thank-you note:

Dear Laney,
Thank you so much for the yummy cookies. I brought you lots of presents because
you've been such a sweet girl and such a good big sister. Keep being nice, and I'll
see you again next year! Love, Santa.
Oh! Rudolph says to tell you he loves it when you sing about him.

People had been asking me what to get Hagen for Christmas, and I'd been saying, "Well, I watched him roll an onion around the kitchen for an hour the other day, so... maybe a bag of onions." On Christmas morning, his toy of choice was Laney's discarded cardboard box pile.

Grandma Sue gave Hagen a reference book about airplanes, and your dad and Tex immediately started comparing notes.

After Christmas lunch, we all went outside to play.

Grandpops and Grammy CC in Missouri sent you guys this fantastic Radio Flyer wagon. You both love it, but every time you get in it, you get this serious look on your faces - as if you're starring in a Sergio Leone movie titled, "Trouble Rolled Into Town On A Painted Wagon."

We all went sledding on the road - even Peg Peg. There are two remarkable things about this. First: She's wearing a hat over her perfectly-sprayed hair. Second: My mother is known for being averse to outdoor adventure, so for her to plunk herself into a inflated tube and sail down the road is a big deal. She made this EEEEEEEEE!! squeal the whole way down the hill. Even though she was probably moving at 5mph down a 10% grade, by the sounds of it, you would have sworn she was on Space Mountain.