"Santa changed our house!"

Any one who has been to my house in the last year has had to suffer through sitting on our breaking and broken couch and love seat. Pushing 12 years old or so, they had given faithful service through more than one family of small children and a few pets, they had been jumped on, spilled on, thrown up on, urinated on by each of our children when they were new babies, and generally manhandled and mistreated through several moves and more or less accommodating doorways. They were trashed. No support from the springs, no cushion left in the cushions. You sat down and just kept on going. Add to all that, Brian's deteriorating ability to gracefully lower himself to a sitting position and well... I was just sort of waiting until the day he fell on to the couch and the frame gave way, like in movie when someone jumps into a bed and it jack-knives on them.

We had been discussing for sometime when we might be able to afford to replace them, and had come to the conclusion that a really warm place would have to freeze over first. Then we thought that maybe for Christmas we would ask our families to donate to a new couch fund instead of presents. That would work, it could be what we would give each other for Christmas, anniversary, and birthday... and maybe next year...

Then a month or so ago my dad called and told me he had found a motorized recliner on sale and purchased it for Brian. I was so excited. It is exactly what he needs, it rises up to meet him so he doesn't have to fall sit down on it. We made arrangements for it to be delivered around the 22nd so it would be something of a Christmas surprise. Not a week later my in-laws called while Christmas shopping to tell me they had decided to get a motorized recliner for Brian and had found a great sale on one. I told them my dad had already bought one for him and gave them his phone number when they said they wanted to go in on it. (I found out later that the chair my dad had purchased was the same one my in-laws were looking at... it was meant to be!) They also arranged to have it delivered up to their house and we made a plan that when we went to my Dad's for Christmas Eve, they would bring it down and take away the broken love seat. I was so excited to see Brian's reaction when we came home from the party, I could hardly wait!


But not only was he surprised with his new and awesome chair, when I came through the door I burst into tears. There was a new couch as well!


The kids were just as excited by the surprise. Evie kept laughing and saying, "Santa changed our house! Oh my goodness, Santa changed our house!" I kept trying to explain that it was our families and not Santa who had made this Christmas miracle, but I don't think she got it. But we know it was them and we appreciate it more than we can express!


And now I have to admit to having a Mima Kim moment. My dad and Caite and Patrick were coming over to our house to open our Christmas Eve jammies and do the traditional Christmas toasts. (Gotta love that sparkling cider.) My dad called as we were driving up our street and told Brian to wait until they got there to help us carry all the kids and presents in the house. (My kids were totally spoiled again this year, but that is another post altogether...) Brian thought that was a little weird, but chalked it up to an excess of Christmas spirit and over protectiveness on the part of my dad. I told him to wait in the van with the kids and I would carry the bags in the house. I wanted to see the chair and how it was set up so that I would know where to stand to get a good picture of Brian being surprised by his chair. I ran in, dropped the bags in the kitchen and smiled hugely at the chair and how good it looked in the room. Then I hurried back outside to make sure one of the kids didn't follow me in and ruin the surprise. As I walked out the front door my dad was pulling in the driveway. He opened his door and frowned at me, "Hey! You peeked!" I frowned back at him, not wanting Brian to know that there was a surprise inside and hissed back, "I already know about the chair." He looked at me for a moment and whispered again, "Yeah, but you peeked." I rolled my eyes in frustration and walked over so we wouldn't be overheard, "Da-aaad (with exaggerated patience), I already know about the chair. It isn't a surprise for me." Then I hurried over to help herd the kids in the house and furtively passed my camera to Caitlin so she could get the picture of Brian as he came in the door. And I am sure you can picture the rest, how much my family laughed at me as I realized the chair wasn't the only new furniture and the good-natured ribbing about my lack of observation. I guess I'm more like my mom then I knew. I didn't care though, we got new furniture! Best Christmas Ever!