They checked out their stockings first, which included lots of little things such as stickers, scissors, gingerbread cookies, Angry Bird fruit snacks, new toothbrushes, Pez dispensers, OSU hat (Brody), beaded bracelets (Em), and new crayons.
Posing in front of the tree before opening gifts. We do actually have a large collection of ornaments, but we just never got around to hanging them up. I know...horrible!!
Emersyn's big gift was a baby doll canopy bed.
Brody and Jax received a train table.
Quite a few "together" gifts, like this felt campfire & s'mores, Cinderella movie, an indoor soccer game, and Blokus Junior.
We placed a candle in our pan of cinnamon rolls--made every year by my mom--and sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. We lit the candle several times so that everyone got a chance to blow it out. :)
We headed over to my sister's place for Christmas with my dad and siblings a little after 11. We arrived to find Jaylen snoozing on the couch...
...and Uncle Scott and Tae playing with a new toy!
We stuffed ourselves full of German pancakes, egg casserole, sausages, and fruit before moving on to gifts!
Later in the evening, we arrived at my grandma's house in Norwalk to visit with family. My Uncle Kevin and cousins Lexi and Livi had prepared a puppet show to entertain the kids. It was so cute, and the kids loved it!!
Uncle Kev & Brodster
When Christmas Day comes to a close, I always think about how blessed and lucky we are to have such loving people around us who gift our children with the most amazing things. I am so grateful for everyone's thoughtfulness, and I hope our kids will soon truly understand how lucky they are, too.
More than anything, though, I want our kids to look back on their holiday memories and remember the time spent with each of you...and the love...and the traditions...and the funny moments...and how it felt to give somebody else a gift. When we sit around and reminisce of Christmases that have gone by, I don't so much care if they remember what Santa brought them this year or that. I want them to think, Oh, remember Uncle Kevin's funny puppet show? Remember when Jax dumped an entire container of sprinkles on one cookie? Remember when everyone had to have a turn to blow out Jesus's candle??
And once our kids are old enough to know how Santa really works, I want them to experience and to feel what it's like to bring Christmas to other families who are not as fortunate as we are. That's a memory from my childhood that has always stuck with me and an important lesson for them to learn.
Soooo...to conclude, here is our family video of Holiday Memories from 2012! Enjoy...we sure have been!! (It's over 8 minutes long, mostly because of the video clips.)
2 comments:
I love all the pics! My favs:
1. The black and white of your 4 in front of the tree Christmas morning.
2. Your whole family in front of the tree - so sweet!!!
3. Sleeping Jayden :)
4. The black and white of the kids watching the puppet show. Adorable expressions!
Oh I forgot to mention that they got such cute and unique gifts and so smart to wrap all of each child's present in a different paper!
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