Joe and I have tried to make sure that our children know the true meaning of Christmas and that even if there were no gifts, it is still such a wonderful, special day to be celebrated. They both will quickly tell you that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and that it isnt about the gifts. But Owen will often follow with, "but we still will get some presents, right mommy?" This too will be a work in progress. :)
We began our Christmas on Wednesday when Joe's family came down to visit. We haven't seen Matt in almost a year so we were really happy he could come be with us as well. We had lots of yummy food to eat for dinner that evening and then had our Christmas together. The kids were so excited and quickly had thier gifts all unwrapped before handing out anyone elses.
Owen got an Armor of God suit, which he was excited to put on. I always have the kids put on the full armor of God each day as I take them to school so it was neat to have a visual for them to see each part.
Nana and Papa got Owen a new game to play and I think Papa, Joe, Uncle Matt and Uncle Isaac were more into the game than the kids :)
Maggie, Owen, and Josie enjoyed all the attention and had fun playing with everyone.
They left the next afternoon to get back to have Christmas at their home, we wished it could have been a longer visit but were glad to have them here to celebrate.
Mom and Dad then came down on Chrismas Eve and also brought in a ton of gifts. (Mom also said she cut back this year...:) We had our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve complete with turkey, ham, sweet potatos, mashed potatos, corn, and homemade rolls. It was delicious, even though it would have tasted much better if I could have just shown up at Pat's and eaten as opposed to cooking most of it. :) (and Pat, my mashed potatos don't TOUCH yours) We then proceeded to let the kids open up their gifts from Mimi, Jaja, and everyone else back home.
Maggie was so excited that she got her My Little Pony cafe which had been on her list of 5 things she sent to Santa. (Santa only brings her 3 gifts so she knew she had to count on someone else to get the other 2. :)
Owen got a dinosaur mountain he was excited about, and after Dad and I taking an hour to get it put together he loved it.
We relaxed at the house all evening while the kids enjoyed Mimi and Jaja time and played with their new toys.
Josie had scored 2 new Dora dolls she kept busy with.
That night we got the cookies and carrots ready for Santa and his reindeer and set them out by the fireplace.
The kids went to bed very easily, as they are aware Santa doesn't stop if he knows your awake. Mom and I made homemade cinnomon rolls to have Chrismtas morning and got those all ready to put in the oven in the AM and then Joe and I got to work on Santa stuff. We had 2 things to put together (and Joe is NOT a put together kind of guy.....I typically do that as I like it done right and by the instructions and he prefers to just wing it. :) He did a great job that night and got both things put togehter before midnight. He also took care of the stockings and did a great job with those and we were both in bed well before 1 am.
Here is the note Santa left the kids the next morning....complete with a reindeer hoof print (or dog print:)
We had told the kids to not get out of bed in the morning but to yell for us so that we could see them coming downstairs. I was pretty much 100 percent sure Owen would fail at this request, but none the less told him the rule. I woke up about 7 30 the next morning to everyone still asleep. Around 7 45 I heard Owen's voice from his room upstairs, "MOMMMMMMA" I headed up and when I opened his door he said, "oh my goodness, I DID NOT think I was really gonna stay in my bed, but I did mommy!!!!" It was a great start to a great Christmas morning. Joe and i lured Maggie out of bed, and then he went to wake our sleeping dragon, Josie....who was NOT thrilled about being pulled out of bed. Mom and Dad had gotten up and I was ready with the camera....(side note here......Joe surprised me the night before with a new Canon Rebel Camera, which I was THRILLED about......I had it charged up to use it that morning but realized I had no clue how to get it to work at that time of the morning so the first bit of pictures are with my old camera....I think you can tell when I begin using the new one....THANK YOU HONEY, I LOVE IT!!!)
and here they came......
(well, except for Josie who Joe was carrying crying! But once she caught sight of her new car she stopped and jumped right in.
The kids were so excited about all their gifts...Maggie got lots of Pet Shop stuff, a scooter, the Strawberry Shortcake house, a DS, and lots more.....
Owen got the Handy Manny workshop he insisted he wanted, a leapster, transformers, and a ton of other boy stuff! This is how Dad spent most of Christmas day....
Josie got a new stroller, lots of babies, and her own "blackberry."
This is how Dad spent most of the day....putting together the kids toys.
He definetly paid for his stay by putting everything together!!
Our cinnamon rolls were DELICIOUS that morning and I am thinking we will do that every year. We spent the rest of the day being lazy, the kids played with all their gifts, and around dinnertime, Joe cooked us all a meal of filet o' bryan, which is a meal at Carrabbas. It was DELICIOUS and every bit as good as Carabbas. Mom and I took care of cleanup and then Joe and I headed out to the movies to see The Blind Side, which was a great movie.
The day after Christmas we all headed out to shop a little of the after christmas sale....we kept Josie out pretty much all day and she fell asleep on the way home. Joe carried her in and put her on the couch like this where she stayed for a good hour with everyone talking and playing around her...
Mom and Dad stayed through the beginning of next week and kept the kids while Joe and I went to Nashville for the UK football game. We had a great time, although I am not much of a sports fan! But it was great to just be away without 3 other little people needing constant attention. We shopped, ate out and relaxed, while the kids had a blast playing with Mimi and Jaja.....or Jaja and "NiNi" as Josie calls her. I was glad to get back to them though....yes I missed them in our short trip! Now we are just home relaxing Christmas break.
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