ruby was pretty surprised too...

I wasn't the only one who got a nice, unexpected, surprise from Santa this year. He brought Ruby several gifts, which he left under the tree at my dad's house. Between Santa, and mom and dad, and grandparents...she did not go without. But I guess Santa decided that she deserved a little something else, which she discovered upon our return to Arizona. He had left her brand new kitchen under (or rather by) our own Christmas tree in our own house. I guess he figured if he had taken it to Utah, it would have been too hard for mom and dad to try to haul back home...now wasn't that just so thoughtful of him?

It was so fun to see Ruby's reaction. She wasn't in the best mood when we pulled in our driveway. On more than one occasoin during our drive, she had stated that she wanted to "go home". We continued to reassure her that home is exactly where we were headed. She was so disappointed, however, to find that home was actually home...our home...home in Arizona. "No," she cried "I want to go home to grandpa's house!"
However, those tears dissipated faster than I could have imagined, the moment she laid her eyes on her very own kitchen. Santa brought her some pots and pans, too, as well as a whole bunch of play food. I think the cutest thing for us to witness, was when she picked up the phone that came with her kitchen, and said "Thank You, Santa!" I hadn't seen her smile that big in a long time. And that made me smile, too.