Christmas with Tessa!

My amazing son Josh told us on Christmas Eve that he would wake us at 8 a.m. to open gifts. What? You're not going to wake us up at the crack of dawn? I know he is going to wake up MUCH earlier than that & lay in his bed with his mind whirling with excitement. What a kid. Anyway, funny enough, his sister calls us from Florida at 7:30. Who would have thought the 18-year-old not living at home would wake us up before the 10 year old? It really made me laugh.

Christmas had its traditional start of Tessa needing to receive her gift first. Yes, I did say Tessa. She's our 11 year old dog. Every year we sadly say, "This is probably Tessa's last Christmas."

People rarely believe it when we say our dog opens gifts. This year she started especially early. As soon as we had a few gifts under the tree she started unwrapping them. We rewrapped them & just watched her after that.

Christmas morning she was OVER THE TOP!! She knew we had more than one gift for her. After she opened her toy she was not content to go chew it. She knew there were dog treats under the tree so she proceeded to start unwrapping ANYONE'S gift. We thought she was hysterical. She was helping the kids open their gifts, & they felt ever so obliged to let her help. It was obvious she was having such a good time.

Tessa does this at any event where there is unwrapping going on. On birthdays when she is not receiving a gift, she still wants to unwrap. We will miss our Tessa SO MUCH when she is gone. She truly adds such joy to our lives. She was my gift to Lonnie many Christmas's ago. It was an especially difficult time for us then, and she came at just the right time.

Tessa & the "unwrapping"!