Oh to be a kid again on Christmas morning!! Logan woke up at 4:00 AM. He started coming in to our room at 6:30 and we made him wait until 7:30 to wake up Ellie. I asked him if he went back to sleep at all between 4:00 and 6:30. He said he fell asleep at 5:00. When I asked for how long, he said, "Until 5:10." Once we were all up and coherent, the kids had to wait even longer, for me to go get in position with the camera downstairs! Love capturing that moment!
Looks like Santa came!
Looks like Santa came!
At our house, we open stockings right away! One of the first stocking gifts of the day....some sweet sunglasses.
After stockings we take a break to remember why it is we are having this big celebration! Time for our Happy Birthday to Jesus cake! We each wrote down what we would do as a gift to Jesus for 2014, then we lit the candles and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus!
I started sweet rolls and checked out the breakfast casserole that had been cooking overnight in the crock pot. Yummy and easy! We took our time with everything, but before long it was back to the goods!
Like every year, the kids scored in the gift department. Ellie received a sewing machine....luckily we have aunt Rachie to show us how in the heck to use it!! I think the last time I sewed with a machine was in the 8th grade! Logan got a telescope and microscope set. he kept saying, "So cool, I got a telescope and a stethoscope".
They were both VERY surprised and shocked to see that Santa had brought them tablets!! We downloaded a bunch of games, the scriptures, music, etc. And then promptly disabled the internet connection. They are happy as clams, and so are we, as they haven't asked to use our phones to play games on once since Christmas!! (FYI, lest you think we are big spenders...I didn't even know you could buy a tablet-like gadget for so little cash!! They are definitely NOT high quality devices!.)
We'll call this the Denver Broncos Christmas, for Logan!
Ellie's holiday haul. So many fun things to do!
This is definitely the Christmas of Friends LEGO's for Ellie! She has been building LEGO stuff for days now!!
So, here's what happened to my first batch of Christmas morning cinnamon rolls! UFDA!! Hard as a rock and they went right in the trash. I did not call it quits...started a second batch. (And by starting a second batch, I mean started to thaw the next tray of Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls!)
So fun to have Devin with us for Christmas! He spoiled us all with gifts and added to the excitement of it all on Christmas morning.
Later on we got to Skype with Sam and Marilyn for a little while. Here's Logan playing his sax for grandma and grandpa via Skype. So fun!
And a few more of the family gifts we received....
a billion more bands for the kids to use for bracelet making, some fun games, a wooden kendama which has been a hit and a challenge, and a table tennis game. We all got tickets to go to the Utah Symphony in February for their Harry Potter music performance!!
Darin got a metal detector, which we are all super excited to use on the northwest beaches! And my big gift was the contraption I am currently typing on....a new laptop! My own laptop! One with a big screen and a touch screen...which is really weird!
Clearly we are blessed in material gifts. But none of it matters. What matters is that we are so blessed beyond material things. Blessed to have each other, to have the safety and security we live with every day, to be free to make our own decisions and worship how we choose, to have an extended family that we love and choose to spend our time with when we can, and whom we know would do anything for us. And above all, to know The Reason for this season is real. Our Savior Jesus Christ WAS born. He DID live. And he did die for us, that we might live with Him again. We are so blessed to have the peace that this knowledge brings, above all other noise and chaos and business...this truth rises above it all. Merry Christmas to you all. And Happy Birthday Jesus!!
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