CHRISTMAS DAY!

YAY!  It is finally Christmas!  Anyone who knows me knows just how much I LOVE Christmas.  I love the songs, the decorating, driving through town to see all the Christmas lights, the love and laughter of family, and well the sheer joy on my kiddos faces as we celebrate Christmas!  I love how the words to the Christmas carols seem more alive and real to me with each passing year as I contemplate the incredible blessings that God has given to us.  I LOVE the joy and excitement on my own children’s faces as we prepare for this day celebrating Christ’s birthday and what that really means to us.

The big kiddos all warned me that since Robert was on call they were planning on getting up EARLY for Christmas morning.  Their logic as maybe if we all got up early enough, Daddy could be a part of the festivities!  After Robert endured four call outs on Christmas Eve, this plan was sounding pretty sound to me.  I finally fell into bed around 11:00 and prayed that I’d stay asleep.  No such luck!  At 2:00 in the morning Cole came to get in bed with us.  This is very unusual and I couldn’t figure out why he was awake.  BUT, I dutifully put him in between his Daddy and me and got up to go to the kitchen to get myself a glass of water.  It was in the kitchen that I found the answer to the Cole dilemma.  John Robert was wide awake waiting on us to all wake up for Christmas!  After shoeing him and Cole back to bed, I tossed and turned and finally got up waiting to see when the kiddos were going to come back out.  At 5:00 when no one had made their appearance, I turned the tree on, turned the coffee pot on, and headed back to bed. 

Imagine my surprise when E-Man jumped on me at 7:00 telling me it was time to get up!  Being the dutiful parents that we were we made our way to the living room and let the gift giving begin.  Once again, the children had a wonderful time opening all their gifts and we delighted at them in their excitement and enthusiasm.  Cole was really a lot of fun this year, even putting the lid BACK on his box of clothes so that he could play with his new choo-choo!  Of course I was REALLY disappointed when my camera batteries DIED half way through the gift opening fest!  UGH!  BUT, I remembered that my phone had a camera and was able to get a few more photos before everything was opened.  Then we all relaxed, cleaned up a little, and started breakfast.

It's Christmas Morning!

What did Ethan get? 

 

A new bow and arrow!

John Robert has a gift to open!

Maggie snuggling a still sleepy Cole Man!

Look, John Robert got a bow and arrow too!

Ethan opening his gifts while Daddy looks on.

Cole kicked back to let Maggie open his presents!

 

 

My parents arrived with their loot and enjoyed a quick breakfast with us.  We all LOVED the gifts that they brought us, but more than anything we loved the way they acted like silly teenagers showing us how their new smart phones work.  After a short visit, they loaded up and headed home so we could spend the rest of our day relaxing and waiting to see if Robert would get called out again.  I even crashed and took a delightful nap.  (BUT, after the nap I got up and did two loads of laundry and a load of dishes!  HA!)

Papa is here to pass out presents, but it looks like he is playing with a choo-choo to me!

Cole helping Papa hand out presents!

The big kiddos and their gifts!

Maggie got some new cookie cookbooks.

All the boys got "guns" that shoot and have laser lights.

AND, they got some gift card loot!

Nana is here and she is opening their gift from the kiddos!

Papa on toy assembly and battery check.

 

Once again we have been abundantly blessed by God as we celebrate the birth of His Son.  We know that it is because of HIS faithfulness in our lives that we have everything that we have.  We also know that it is because of His rich blessings that our family is so blessed!  We all can’t wait to see what He has for us in 2014.  Christ had the birthday, the babe that was born in the manager; but we are the ones who get the gifts!  What a God we serve!