I don’t know about the rest of the world, but in the Hector household Christmas has come and gone. Did that seem fast to anyone else? It seems like just yesterday that it was December 29^th… Weird…

Being in a firefighter’s family, we have grown up with the possibility of not having a dad around on certain holidays, birthdays etc.. This was true for Christmas 2007, so we worked around his schedule. We celebrated our Christmas Eve and Christmas on the 23^rd and 24^th respectively. In contrast to our Thanksgiving, this particular holiday was much quieter, due to the fact that we only had four other people up instead of 23 extra visitors. Nana and Papa came up on the 23^rd and stayed the night, and then Aunt Debbie and Uncle Ron arrived on the 24^th to have dinner.

As usual, there were four cameras snapping shots all through the morning, so I am bound to have a couple of good pictures to throw up here… Actually, let’s start with one that was taken about a week and a half prior to Christmas day. Either dad's upper body is turning into the greenery, or he is being consumed by it…

Did you see my ambulance in the background? We went and got a tree on a day when I was working. The rig is a huge 4x4 conversion with about a 6 inch lift. It’s a pretty groovy ambulance… or should I say was… one of our crews rolled it on the way to a vehicle accident when they hit black ice. Ouch.

Back to Christmas. On the Eve of Christmas (a.k.a. Christmas Eve, for those of you who were having a hard time with that concept, which I hope there weren’t too many of you out there), mom gave us each an ornament per tradition. Here is a picture of Sara squishing me while I am holding up my violin ornament…

Every Christmas, our family makes about 15 different kinds of cookies and put them on plates as gifts for other people. Here is our dining room table covered with… well… you know… teeth rotting food. Don’t worry HRTF and family… we brush at least twice a day…

 Before we open any gifts on the morning of, dad reads the story of Jesus’ birth to us. Note the pink sky outside the window. Yes, it was early…

Another way to tell that it was early is by looking at this picture. It took awhile to get Ben to the point of consciousness. Dad was obviously wide awake…

Here is my favorite 12 year old sister, and sitting behind her is my favorite 11 year old sister. They look pretty comfy…

What more than a doll can an 8 year old girl want?...

Recognition for this next photo goes to Matthew Hector. Ben got a lot of motorcycle gifts this year, including a Lego bike cop…

And I got a Lego Medical QRV (Quick Response Vehicle). It sorta fits with the job description…

These next two pictures I absolutely love. Bex has the greatest smile in the world…

She also got a heart locket with pictures of both mom and dad. I think she got tired of her nightgown…

The boys got Ben and me (I know that sounds grammatically wrong, but it is wright!! Or write… or right… one of the three…) chef hats with our names on them. I think the hats will improve our culinary skills exponentially…

And now for the greatest shot of them all. Ben received both shorts and a sweater from mom, so he decided to put them on, find a hat and a golf club, and break every fashion law out there. Although, I must admit, the shorts are kinda cool…

On the 25^th, we headed over to the Bay Area, saw National Treasure 2, and had dinner with dad at the firehouse. Unfortunately, we didn’t take any pictures of the marvelous day, so you will have to rely on your imagination to carry you through. If you are picturing lots of good food and fire engines, you are on the right track.

I hope you enjoyed 2007. I sure did.