Ever since I put the gifts under the tree Jathan has been begging and pleading anxiously awaiting the day that we would open gifts. I tried to tie in our wait with our advent studies and talk to him about how God promised a Savior and the world anxiously awaited His coming. I don't know if any of it sunk in or not but his attitude did dramatically improve over those last days of waiting.
I decided that Tuesday of this week was the day. Jackie would be off work and it would be just a couple of days before we'd leave for Alabama so we could get up in the morning and pretend it was Christmas morning, open presents in our pajamas, and play all day. I told Jathan the night before--big mistake! He couldn't hardly sleep!
When he got us up that morning, we told him we'd open gifts after breakfast. "I'm just going to sit here and look at the presents ALL DAY," he said.
Jackie cooked a big breakfast for us.
Then we all sat down to eat. Ryland practically licked his plate clean. The boy loves gravy and biscuits!
I actually woke Piper up...
so that she could enjoy some eggs and gravy, too. She said, "Thank you very much."
And Jathan said, "Don't touch me with gravy hands, Piper!"
When everyone was finished eating, Jathan brought us his Bible and told us to read. He actually remembered Jackie reading the Christmas story last year before we opened presents! After we read Jathan prayed. "Thank You, God, for toys and food and presents. Amen." = )
Jackie passed out their stockings and everyone paused for a picture.
Ryland seemed totally confused the whole time but although he didn't know what was going on, he liked it! Piper was also excited to have everyone sit in the floor with her. She got some juice and a book in her stocking.
Then it was unwrapping time!
Ryland was super excited about his new bubbles!
He also loved his new magna doodle. "I DRAW!" Ha, ha.
I think his favorite gift, however, was his new grocery cart. He quickly loaded that sucker up and has pushed it all around. Doesn't he make the cutest little hobo?
Jathan was the most fun to watch, I think. He was just so excited about everything. The very first gift he opened was some skeleton dinosaurs. He'd been asking me for weeks if he was getting any dinosaurs; he was very concerned. Then he opened those and a huge grin spread across his face and he jumped into my lap saying, "Oh, Mama, thank you!" It was kind of awesome. He was pretty much as enthusiastic about the rest of the gifts. He got more dinosaurs and more dinosaurs and a big babbling dragon that is his new bed buddy.
He and Ryland also had a joint gift...a big play structure of connecting tents and balls!
The girls both got juice for Christmas. Keeleigh's was a little fancier than Piper's.
Keeleigh was thrilled when she unwrapped her new movie, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. She and her friends have been reading through the book series and she's been dying to watch the movie.
Keeleigh also got a new duffle bag...
and a Scentsy warmer for her room...
When it came time to open her big present, she thought she knew what was in it. See I'd made the mistake of letting Jathan see me wrap her duffle bag. "It's a secret, so don't tell her," I told him. The minute we opened the door, as I was placing the present under the tree, he came to me and said, "I told Keeleigh!" Fortunately she didn't understand exactly what he'd said. He said "bag" and she heard "bike." So she thought a bike was in the big box.
But it was actually....a keyboard!
She is going to begin taking lessons after Christmas break! She is such a natural I can't wait to hear her hone in on her talent.
And at the end when everyone else had opened their gifts, there was one for me. Keeleigh had went out the night before with a friend and had used to her own money to buy me a surprise! She got me a pair of earrings, some eye shadow, and some bath goodies--bath salts, lotion, and bath gel. I definitely felt pretty special that she thought of me all on her own!
I love my gift from her but I love my four little gifts from God even more. Their smiling faces make me light up and their arms around my neck make me melt. I hold them and try to imagine how Mary felt holding the Son of God in her arms. How did her heart survive? Thank You, God, for sharing Your love with me through children.
I decided that Tuesday of this week was the day. Jackie would be off work and it would be just a couple of days before we'd leave for Alabama so we could get up in the morning and pretend it was Christmas morning, open presents in our pajamas, and play all day. I told Jathan the night before--big mistake! He couldn't hardly sleep!
When he got us up that morning, we told him we'd open gifts after breakfast. "I'm just going to sit here and look at the presents ALL DAY," he said.
Jackie cooked a big breakfast for us.
Then we all sat down to eat. Ryland practically licked his plate clean. The boy loves gravy and biscuits!
I actually woke Piper up...
so that she could enjoy some eggs and gravy, too. She said, "Thank you very much."
And Jathan said, "Don't touch me with gravy hands, Piper!"
When everyone was finished eating, Jathan brought us his Bible and told us to read. He actually remembered Jackie reading the Christmas story last year before we opened presents! After we read Jathan prayed. "Thank You, God, for toys and food and presents. Amen." = )
Jackie passed out their stockings and everyone paused for a picture.
Ryland seemed totally confused the whole time but although he didn't know what was going on, he liked it! Piper was also excited to have everyone sit in the floor with her. She got some juice and a book in her stocking.
Then it was unwrapping time!
Ryland was super excited about his new bubbles!
He also loved his new magna doodle. "I DRAW!" Ha, ha.
I think his favorite gift, however, was his new grocery cart. He quickly loaded that sucker up and has pushed it all around. Doesn't he make the cutest little hobo?
Jathan was the most fun to watch, I think. He was just so excited about everything. The very first gift he opened was some skeleton dinosaurs. He'd been asking me for weeks if he was getting any dinosaurs; he was very concerned. Then he opened those and a huge grin spread across his face and he jumped into my lap saying, "Oh, Mama, thank you!" It was kind of awesome. He was pretty much as enthusiastic about the rest of the gifts. He got more dinosaurs and more dinosaurs and a big babbling dragon that is his new bed buddy.
He and Ryland also had a joint gift...a big play structure of connecting tents and balls!
The girls both got juice for Christmas. Keeleigh's was a little fancier than Piper's.
Keeleigh was thrilled when she unwrapped her new movie, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. She and her friends have been reading through the book series and she's been dying to watch the movie.
Keeleigh also got a new duffle bag...
and a Scentsy warmer for her room...
When it came time to open her big present, she thought she knew what was in it. See I'd made the mistake of letting Jathan see me wrap her duffle bag. "It's a secret, so don't tell her," I told him. The minute we opened the door, as I was placing the present under the tree, he came to me and said, "I told Keeleigh!" Fortunately she didn't understand exactly what he'd said. He said "bag" and she heard "bike." So she thought a bike was in the big box.
But it was actually....a keyboard!
She is going to begin taking lessons after Christmas break! She is such a natural I can't wait to hear her hone in on her talent.
And at the end when everyone else had opened their gifts, there was one for me. Keeleigh had went out the night before with a friend and had used to her own money to buy me a surprise! She got me a pair of earrings, some eye shadow, and some bath goodies--bath salts, lotion, and bath gel. I definitely felt pretty special that she thought of me all on her own!
I love my gift from her but I love my four little gifts from God even more. Their smiling faces make me light up and their arms around my neck make me melt. I hold them and try to imagine how Mary felt holding the Son of God in her arms. How did her heart survive? Thank You, God, for sharing Your love with me through children.
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