Christmas Day

What a wonderful Christmas day!  However, I took absolutely no pictures while presents were being opened.  I didn't even think about it.  I was enjoying watching everyone else, and their excitement that it actually didn't even occur to me.  Oh well!  I promise you we had fun!  Here are some of the after the facts pictures that I did take.

The girls slept downstairs in the guest room together.  They woke up a bit before 8:00, but we had agreed that we'd come get them at that time.  We told them to grab their stuffed animals, so Decker wouldn't get them and take them to their rooms.  We weren't actually concerned about Decker, but this was a great way for them to go see what Santa left for them!  They both received a Dream Tent which they had been asking about for months.  They were so excited about that!  Mia's has this great Northern Lights theme to it while Lily's is an Underwater Wonderland.  They love that they can curl up in here to read or play.  They each received a new 2018 calendar as well; Lily's is a "Mommy and Me" adorable animal one while Mia's is a Descendants theme.  Lastly, they each received a pillow from the Mermaid Pillow Company.  These are so cool.  They are super soft and adorable on one side (Mia's says "puppies play" while Lily's says "foxes explore."), but the backside is covered in one color of sequins, but when you move your hand over them they change to another color very easily.  They are really neat and are very fun for writing messages and making designs on them.  This was a very way to start the morning!

 Next, we all went into the living room to open our presents.  Everyone was very excited and surprised by their gifts.

 After all these gifts had been opened up, we unloaded our stockings which is always fun too.

After all the gifts had been opened, we decided to have some breakfast.  I tried a new Pinterest recipe and make "Christmas tree cinnamon rolls" which turned out pretty good.

 After breakfast it was time to start playing with all the fun gifts.  Mia couldn't wait to plug in her new karaoke machine.  She received two soundtracks to use: Descendants and Moana.  We've all had fun with this gift!

 She was so excited to get a skateboard and pads from Grandpops and Grandma Jan, especially when she realized the wheels light up!  She's been riding this all around our unfinished basement.  The basement is getting lots of good use these days as she's having fun learning to use the stilts that Granna and Papa gave her and the pogo stick that we gave her!

 Grandpops and Grandma Jan also gave her a cool throw-back basketball goal which she's loving.  It attaches to the back of her bedroom door and each time she scores, it throws the ball back to her.  We've had a lot of fun playing this together too.

 Other fun things that Mia received but aren't shown here include books, waterproof iPad case, bath table for watching the iPad in the bath, Stare game, Eno chair, Bop-It Maker from Lily and lots of books.

Lily spent most of her Christmas afternoon building Legos.  She loved the Grand Hotel received from Grandpops and Grandma Jan and the Sailboat we gave her.  On Christmas Eve, she had already put together the Hospital from Granna and Papa and Ice Skating Rink from Wayne that goes with the Ski Lift Resort from Meme.  This girl is always happy with new Lego sets!

 Other gifts not pictured are an Irish flute and instruction book, a Harry Potter Hogwarts clock, a cool looking magnetic bulletin board for her room, Lego Reactions from Mia, and lots of books.

Both girls also had full stockings that included things like new Camp Crestridge shirts and a trunk sticker for next summer, putty and pens, Hermione-inspired American Girl clothes (for Lily's doll), Descendants socks (for Mia), Braves toboggan (for Lily), a mood ring (for Mia), and a few other miscellaneous items.

It was a restful afternoon.  Granna and Papa came over for a bit and the girls loved showing all their new goodies.  It was nice to hang out with them for a bit before they headed over to visit Wayne's family and Meme.  This was a fun and wonderful day.  As parents, it's so much fun to give our kids gifts that excite them; it reminds us that God delights in giving us as His children good gifts too.  We love to remember that Christmas is here because He gave us the greatest gift, His son, to the world.  For that, we are thankful each and every day.