ho,ho...HEY!

just as we were about to eat tonight, the doorbell rang. hmm, that's unusual. it was pretty late in the evening and if anyone was going to make an appearance around dinner time it would be the boys...uncle darrell or uncle nathan-but rarely do they ever knock or ring the doorbell. before i even had a second to think of who it could be, isaiah raced to the front and swung the door wide open. i didn't recognize the man standing on our front step, but isaiah couldn't care less....all he heard was, "are you isaiah?" yep. "guess who's here to see you!" isaiah peered further outside and saw santa clause hitching a ride in the back of a van covered with christmas lights. before i knew it, my barefoot son had run off, too ecstatic to think about the cold beneath his feet. agh! what the...?! come back! you don't have shoes on, let alone socks....and what if this santa is a phony? what if they're just luring my unsuspecting son to their treat filled van and hokey santa, only to take him away?! i wasn't crazy about this whole santa business to say the least. like any other overprotective mama bear, i ran right behind isaiah (without my shoes too, brr!), ready to beat down santa if i had to, and kept close watch on isaiah as he engaged in short, but thrilled, conversation with mr.clause. he was given a bag of christmas treats and thankfully handed back to me. but my thrilled little boy couldn't contain the excitement of the surprise visit and as we walked back in he yelled out for everyone in a 2 mile radius to hear, "THANK YOU SANTA! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU TOO SANTA! WE HAVE YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE IN OUR HOUSE SANTA! BYE SANTA! i have to say, once the relief that this was a legit santa, and the fact that isaiah was safe back in my arms had set in, i thought - isaiah is one cute kid! i loved seeing the delight in his eyes. its tempting to keep the lie of santa clause going...especially when you need some bargaining room. ;)