My eyes blinked into the morning light on Christmas Day. Yes, you read that right: morning light. 

For the first time in years, no child rushed into our bedroom on December 25 until after the sunrise. When I asked my husband what time it was as Owen impatiently shifted his weight from foot to foot, he told me 7:00. Seven?? If we had a rooster, he’d have crowed long ago. Parents across the country were already picking up wrapping paper and starting breakfast, some even going back to sleep. Heck, it even took a few minutes for the boys to rouse Nora enough to realize what day it was. 

I think it was the combo of Christmas Vigil Mass, followed by an obsession with the Santa tracker app. READ MORE

Jessica Bauer is a small-town girl raising her bunch in southwest Arkansas. Her cast of characters includes a husband of 10 years, three mostly sweet kids, and 11 chickens. She blogs about them all at Life With the Bauer Bunch. Stop by to check out the good, the bad, and the funny in motherhood.