Holy Snikies Santa!!!

Today was a great day for us. We made a trip to the Robinson Mall to go see Santa! The Santa out here is absolutely amazing and this is the one we visited last year when we first moved to Pittsburgh. We arrived at the mall and made our way to where the all knowing Mr. Claus awaited to find a little clock saying will be back at 2:05. I have to say it worked out for the best. We walked around for a few minutes then made our way back to where he was to see a line starting to form. So we hopped in line to await our visit. When we finally got up to see him, maybe 10 minutes passed, I looked at Matthew and told him that for some reason I just got realllly nervous. I am talking the whole butterfly, oh shit is this going to work, panic kindof feeling. Our turn is now... we made our way around the rope and there he was. Santa Claus. And Victoria started to cry. Shit. After a little sweet talking, coaxing and Matthew partaking in the picture this year we managed to get some shots. Louden just looked at the man with the fuzzy white beard and decided, ok this man is cool. I think I can hang. So Success! We have a picture with both the kids and Santa, Victoria was slightly upset but not traumatized, and we as parents are $30 poorer. But worth it. This man is THE BEST Santa ever! The kids are not just another kid. He takes his time and actually talks to them! I suppose when it came to this moment in my life I pictured the Santa from "The Christmas Story" with the bad beard and the obnoxious "Ho HO HO". I am glad this is not the case.

Watching the kids in line and my own make me appreciate Christmas again. The true meaning of Christmas. It is for the kids, it is a joyful time and a great time for family. I also know this time of year is hard for some. Those who have lost someone so special to them that it hurts to enjoy the holidays. I could never began to even express the grief I feel for them.  I pray one day that this time of the year will be joyful again but for now it is pain. When you go to sleep at night be thankful for the healthy people that you have in your lives because God only knows what tomorrow holds.

A little bit of coaxing going on

The one taken by the Mall