Christmas Morning 2014

Christmas. Waking up while it's still dark. Intense excitement you can barely contain. The thrill of each unopened package as it is passed your way. Counting your pile to see how it compares to your siblings'. The joy at what you discover inside every wrapped box. It is such a blessing to watch all of this unfold in our home with four kids on Christmas morning. And let's face it, even the disappointment that Santa didn't bring that ipad mini this year is quickly erased by all the wonderful things that were received. We are so blessed, and it is more apparent than ever each Christmas morning.

This year, Leyton made a little surprise for us. He wrapped it up as a scroll and placed it on the tree. (You might have noticed a weird scroll shaped item on our tree in the Christmas Eve pictures.) He was very adamant that we open it first thing before we did anything else. So as we came down the stairs, we all gathered round while he unrolled it and showed us his masterpiece. It was a drawing of the nativity, complete with baby Jesus in the manger. And on a sticky note, he had asked me to write a message: "Christmas is not about presents. It is about the birth of Jesus. That is the greatest gift of all." I couldn't have said it better myself. I am also beating myself up because I accidentally erased the picture of him holding up his beautiful creation. It was a precious little moment, and I am so thankful that my little guy kept us rooted in the true meaning of Christmas.

And now, what follows is a long slew of pictures with absolutely no one looking at the camera. But you will get the idea and see how happy our little ones were this Christmas morning. :)

ok, maybe one person looked at the camera, but he looks half asleep so not sure if that actually counts.

I wish I could say that the excitement and joy is all that is experienced on Christmas Day, but for grown-ups, that would be a lie. This was the calm before the storm because soon after we had a house full of new toys, piles of trash, and grandparents coming over in the afternoon. It took a couple hours of mad cleaning and organizing to get things back to normal. To up the stress level even more, I also attempted my first ever prime rib roast with yorkshire pudding for Christmas dinner at Daddy's request. Thankfully, it turned out delicous and we enjoyed a nice dinner with the grandparents.  I wish I had taken a few pictures while they were here, but alas, I was too dang tired. Merry Christmas to you and yours!