Christmas morning

Our Christmas morning started right on time. The kids are well trained and know they can't come out of their rooms until 7:00. The second it turned 7 though, we heard three sets of little running feet heading toward the stairs. The present sorting started right away and Hawken was very pleased with his long train of presents just for him.

The room became covered in paper and toys and cards in a matter of minutes. Our kids, as usual, were very spoiled this year. Thanks to the Arnold family, the Abbajay family, the Patterson family, in addition to the rest of our family (grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.). We feel so blessed.  After getting everything opened, then we had to put together all the playsets... Which reminds me, why do they package things SO much now? It's near impossible to get it out, at least the kids are more patient now.

Hawken and Matix seriously LOVED each thing they opened. They got a few Imaginext sets (their new favorite thing), and a Ballistiks car thing (which I had never heard of before, but they LOVE).  It was hard to get still pictures of them because they never stopped!

Lullaby got dollies and horses, which she requested. She also got quite a few clothes, which she always loves.

Solace seemed a little annoyed with his first Christmas. It was noisy and he got very little attention. Sorry baby. Next year, you'll love it.  He did make out with some fun baby toys and cute clothes too.

We made cinnamon rolls, as is tradition, although this year they were store bought, not from scratch.  They tasted great though, so I don't feel bad.

Paul and I had a good Christmas too, but who are we kidding, Christmas isn't about us anymore. :)  We so much enjoyed watching the kids with their new toys, loving life. I took lots of video that morning and made a movie. It was a fun day. Merry Christmas!

Santa Pictures!

We went to Bass Pro Shop again this year to take our Santa pictures. They always have such a cute set up, plus it's free and there is usually no line. The boys were eager to see Santa and tell him what they wanted.

Even Solace sat with Santa and smiled, sweet baby.  His first Santa pictures (I'm not counting the terrible Santa pictures we took at church).

Lullaby however, wanted NOTHING to do with Santa. She became a limp noodle as I tried to walk her up there. She asked "Pease mom, NO Santa, pease!" She was so scared of him.  So she stood at a distance and pointed to him, and would occasionally shoot him a scowl if she caught him waving at her.

There were lots of games and toys and activities for the kids. Hawken wrote a letter to Santa. They all made cute little reindeer bags. Plus there were the usual Bass Pro fun things like playing in all the boats.

More pictures. Adorable kids, I know.

I had wanted to get a group picture with everyone, but Lullaby would only go near Santa if I was holding her.  So instead of a picture of my four sweet children sitting on Santa's lap, smiling and enjoying themselves, I got this. Not my favorite.

Some more friends joined us there after a while and so we tried to get a group shot of the kids together, this was as good as it got. Several of the kids wanted nothing to do with Santa, although Lullaby followed along and took a picture this time, stinker.

My friend, Susannah, snuck in some baby snuggles.  She put him right to sleep.

pannkakor

On Christmas Eve, we drove to Dale and Vanessa's for breakfast. Dale made Swedish pancakes and we brought lots of fruit. I took a picture of Dale on his phone, but I have yet to receive said picture... It was of him with a small stack of the pannkakor (Swedish for pancakes).  The kids ran around outside with their cousins and shot arrows and had a great time.

We ran around doing lots of things that day, but eventually came home and hung out as a family. We watched Christmas movies and soaked up some good holiday fun. Acted out the Nativity, and loved watching our kids come up with some details that we never heard about, like the duck in the stable.  This sweet baby in his Christmas jammies was ready for his first Christmas.

Our church does a "giving tree" where tags are left on the tree for a child with only their age and a possible suggestion for what they would like for Christmas. These children are from families who might have a hard time getting gifts this year. The kids and I looked over the many tags and talked about the children who were hoping for a Christmas present, but might not get one. They were SO moved and really into it. We chose a tag for a little boy. The kids helped me shop for him, and we loved every second of this activity.  Christmas Eve, we dropped off one of the giving tree gifts to another family. We put it on their door step, rang the bell, yelled "Merry Christmas!" and ran as fast as we could back to the car.  That is what Christmas is about. Giving to others and not expecting anything in return.  It put us all in the right mood for Christmas the next day.  When we got home, we called my dad to hear "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and then everyone crashed out.  We left the lights on the tree that night. It was a good Christmas Eve.

Christmas Party

We went to a fun Christmas party at our friends' house. There were about a billion kids there, so our kids had a blast. Thanks for the invite!

I wish I had taken a picture of all the food. The food was the best part. The baked brie that Sophia made was TO DIE FOR. I went back for seconds, and thirds. Yum!

Presents from Laurel

Laurel brought us WAY too many gifts this year. She got each of the boys a super hero that was tall like a barbie. Lullaby got a new tutu that she loves.

And she even got Paul and I this huge movie date basket. It's filled with tons of movies, and popcorn, and candy... After the kids fell asleep, Laurel and Paul and I watched a new movie and ate snacks and talked, it felt like collage again. So fun!

I only got her this tiny little present... so sad. She said she liked it though. :)

Then a few days later, we got a package with a bunch of rock holds to make the kids a climbing wall, along with a gift certificate to Home Depot for any supplies we might need. Paul and I were SUPER excited about that. That was from Laurel's mom, Debra. Thanks SO much to both of you!! We haven't built the wall yet, but plans are in the works, the fortress is about to get amazing!