The Magic of Christmas Day

Christmas Morning! This was the earliest my kids have ever woken up for Christmas. Going to bed early must have something to do with that. I heard Lindsey up at 5 am. At 5:30 am I heard her and Olivia talking. A little before 6 I heard them walk out to the family room. at 5:57 they came in to ask me if they could wake the boys. I let them of course. ;) They were all so excited and happy with what they found next to their stockings. Tyler was quick to ask to open gifts under the tree since he couldn't do much with a bike. :) 

Jaime stopped before handing out the first gift and suggested we go down to the living room to turn over the advent calendar for December 25th. It was Tyler's turn. I love my advent calendar. Not only does it tell the story of Christ's birth but also about his life, miracles, death, and resurrection and what it means for us. 

After the scripture we knelt down in our circle for family prayer. Jaime asked me to say it. Immediately after addressing our Father in Heaven tears sprang to my eyes. I wept as I gave a prayer of thanksgiving. It's been a rough Christmas season watching Bel go through so much. It's tough to see the blessings in all of it but I truly felt our Father's love as I was praying. The others had tears in their eyes. After we said amen and gave our group hug Tyler asked me if my tears were happy tears. I think he already knew they were but was just double checking. The little sweet heart was trying to keep his tears in check too. I was grateful that my children all felt the Holy Ghost like I did. A very special moment for us and I'm SO glad we were able to stop and really be thankful for what we were celebrating today. 

Opening gifts! Aidan and his puzzles. 

I didn't get many pictures of gift opening this time. Too busy actually looking at what they get and commenting on it I guess. :)

Olivia received some more American Girl accessories.

After we opened our gifts and got dressed we headed to Grandview to celebrate Christmas with my family.  Mel and Tim and Jeff had come to visit. Elizabeth, Lori, Darin and me and our families were all there as well. I enjoyed visiting with them and enjoying a wonderful holiday meal.

It was the first time Jaime and Jeff ever met each other. Jeff lives in Hawaii. Not exactly where we can just drop in for a visit. :) Jeff does movies. He was in the Jurassic World movie. My kids think that's so AWESOME! They were excited to meet Jeff as well. I think everyone enjoyed listening to him talk about film making and what  he's been up to. 

Lori and Stuart got the keys to their new house on Christmas Eve. We went to go take a look at it today. It's a cute place that Lori is excited to make their own. The decorating and arranging furniture and all your stuff is alway the best part. Buying...not so much. Darin, being in construction and such, did a home inspection of his own. I got a kick out of him climbing on top of Jeff to get a look of the attic. 

Saying goodbye. Who knows when we'll see Jeff again. Whenever we get together with any of my Aunt Mel's kids I always think about past memories of things we've done with them all growing up. We saw them more than any of our other cousins and had lots of fun with them. Jeff seems, surprisingly, a lot like I remember him being. :)

The boys were eager to get back home to play with their 'goods.' Since we didn't get home until a little after 8 I let them stay up till almost 10 playing with their things. That's a bonus of the holidays right?