December - Christmas

Christmas Eve started out with the boys getting their new pajamas - Mario and Star Wars themed.  We then read Luke Chapter 2 and then watched the movie, "Joy to the World" that was put out by our church a couple of years ago.  It's a wonderful depiction of the Savior's birth.  We then sang a couple of Christmas songs, checked on NORAD where Santa was, and then put the boys to bed.  They went down pretty easily, convinced Santa wouldn't come until they're asleep.

Adam was told by kids at school that Santa doesn't exist, but he's insists Santa is real.  Samuel tried to convince him that Santa is just us, but Adam said, "NO, Samuel!  If you don't believe he won't come!"  That shut Samuel up and they very much enjoyed preparing for Santa.

 

 Oh!  The joy of having children old enough to read a clock!  For the last couple of years, we've had a rule that you don't wake Mom and Dad up before the appointed time.  This year it was 8am.  They woke up around 7:30, so Aaron and I woke up to excited laughter and "Shhhh!  It's not 8am yet!" being whispered loudly in the next room.  We all finally made our way to the living room to get down to business.

 We open our gifts one or two at a time, so everybody can see what everyone else got.  Samuel opened his "big" gift fairly early.  He got our old digital camera this year.  He loves taking pictures and would frequently use mine without permission. I got tired of trying to find my camera, only to discover the battery is dead.  He had loved it and my eyes might be going blind from all the camera flashes :)

 

They boys got remote controlled cars that do 360 degree turns and flips.

Aaron got some Magic the Gathering cards, a box to hold them, a board game, and a video game.  I got some new pans, sheets, a game, and some movies.  Jenny gave all the family awesome calendars with everyone's birthdays and pictures in them.

Samuel got a table top air-hockey table, and Adam got a Beyblade Destroyer dome.

 

 As you can see, he was pretty thrilled about that!

Video games, Pikmin 2 and a racing game, were also big hits.

And what is Christmas without at least one box of Legos?  This is a Star Wars set that Adam had a great time putting together.  We had a great day, a delicious dinner and lots of fun playing.  We feel blessed this year and hope you all were able to enjoy the holidays, too!