I'm consolidating the Christmas posts.....they really aren't all that interesting and the pictures are all the same...
For the first time EVER, we stayed home on Christmas morning and opened presents at our house. I know it was hard for our families to give that tradition up but we SO enjoyed waking up in our beds and spending Christmas morning together, just us. It was wonderful and I look forward to our children remembering Christmas morning at our house, just as Mark and I grew up remembering Christmas mornings at home with our parents.
Since we were home, the "Santa" and gifting responsibilities fell on us! Although we don't really talk about Santa or make a big deal out of it, we did set out one big gift for the girls and of course filled their stockings (stockings are my favorite part!!)
Annie checkin out the new wagon...she loves it and will just sit in it and play
Lucy's favorite part about her stocking....the candy cane!
Playing with their new jump ropes
After stockings, we ate a big, yummy breakfast (made by yours truly) and then dove right into the presents!
Lucy has a musical jewelry box with a ballerina in it that Laura just adores, so for Christmas she got her very own! We filled it with hair bows and jewelry.
Cinderellas
After morning naps, clean up, and getting ready for the day, my dad, stepmom, and her family came over for more Christmas day festivities!
The whole crew
Lucy's new Princess Castle Tent! She LOVES it.
After more naps, more clean up, and Mark and I wondering what the heck we got ourselves into doing Christmas at our house....we headed over to my mom's for Christmas evening. Her house is always so relaxing and calm, it's a good end to our Christmas chaos :)
These are the outfits I PLANNED on getting a good Christmas card pic in, but of course things never happen as planned and the pictures from Christmas Eve were better....still cute outfits though :)
I'll spare you more opening presents pictures and suffice it to say, our kids seriously racked up this year. So much so that I'm thinking next year we will have to have some sort of gift limit because my kids are now officially spoiled rotten. Even Laura seemed overwhelmed by all of the new stuff. We are VERY grateful, but I'm thinking we need to focus more on giving next year than receiving.
All in all, it was a fabulous Christmas spent with family that we are so blessed to have. I love the chaos and the mess and the noise....but at the end of the day it's so nice to reflect, in silence, on the greatest gift we were given on Christmas Day, the birth of our Savior and Lord. The fact that God willingly sent his "only begotten son", and that Jesus willingly came, so that we could be saved and "become sons and daughters", and literally be ADOPTED into His family, is a humbling realization for us this Christmas.
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