What a magical Christmas we had!
However, always leading up to it I feel a bit frazzled and think there is NO WAY I'm ever going to pull everything off in time...but in the end it all falls into place.
I try to make sure I remember the true meaning of Christmas and partake in all the Christmas-y things leading up to the big day...and I do say, I think I'm getting better at it every year!
We spent Christmas Eve at my brother Matt and his family's home (as per tradition).
We got home that evening and got the kiddos into bed...I don't think the older girls actually fell asleep until maybe 1:00 in the morning! Which made for a late night for us!!
But around midnight the snow starting falling and we all knew we were going to wake up to a Winter Wonderland!
Christmas is my favorite! Honestly, it's just the absolute best when I have children to share it with! Growing up my mom always made Christmas morning magical, truly she did.
As a mom now, there is nothing better than seeing my children come down the stairs to find out that Santa actually came!!
The little ones fell in love with their American Girl dolls.
I cherished my own growing up and I hope they do the same with theirs.
Piper wanted Mary Ellen and Rory, Samantha (which is the one I had growing up).
Haley and Morgan scored big with new bikes this year! (It's kinda nice having a husband in the industry!) Morgan has been talking about racing road for a while now, and of course you say those words in this household Ryan is ALL over it! Ha! And Haley, has been dreaming of her own beach cruiser. We've ALWAYS told her no way...complete with a list of reasons why; they're too big and don't fit well in the garage, way too heavy and we can't take it anywhere, yadda yadda. So you can imagine her total shock when she came down the stairs. In fact, we told her "no" so many times she didn't believe the bike was actually for her!
The girls have always participated with gift giving growing up, whether it's artwork or a craft they've made or cards, they seem to always have something under the tree for other family members. But as Haley and Morgan get older its been fun to see them actually shop for others with money they've earned here and there.
It was the most relaxing morning!
Later that day we cleaned up and my family came over to celebrate.
I served up a ham feast and we did more gift exchanging.
And of course the day wouldn't be complete without Rory falling asleep somewhere...she found a good spot with grandpa.
Morgan had been wanting a trapper hat with matching flannel shirt...her wish came true!
I think she wore that shirt for a week straight! And she wears that hat every day!
Jeff and Jess.
My mom with my little niece, Rowan.
What a wonderful weekend!
