Snapshots of Christmas Day

God blessed us with a beautiful Christmas Day celebration. I do think we're one of the rare sets of parents who have children who DON'T rise at 4:00 a.m. and run for the gifts. We were up late playing Phase 10 on Christmas Eve, and the children didn't even get up until almost 10:00 the next morning. We enjoyed a simple breakfast of coffee cake, and Mountain Man read from the Advent, 12 Days of Christmas, and Ephiphany devotional book that we've been using. After a bit of clean-up, we enjoyed opening gifts after listening to the children quote Luke 2:1-20. Gift-opening takes quite awhile in our family because we open each gift one by one. It's nice to watch the expressions of delight on the children's faces, and the children have learned to be quite patient, thinking not just of themselves and what they'll be "getting." Each child received three gifts, and we finished up in about 1-1/2 hours. We enjoyed a lovely Christmas dinner later that evening. Here are some moments from our day....

Here are the children reciting Luke 2:1-20. One of the most creative gifts we received were these homemade coupons from Scribe and Little Big Man for back rubs and foot massages! Little Bit loved the new dress that Scribe gave her. Whistler received this GIANT coloring book from Reaches Up. This really is amazing, with beautifully detailed pictures to color and LOTS of information about butterflies. It proves you can learn AND color at the same time! :)

This has been on my list to buy for the Littles, and I'm glad I finally did. Boo has really enjoyed this mat, and she has been very gracious in sharing with Little Bit. Mountain Man bought another pen for it so they can use it together. (however, we're having to teach Little Bit that the she is supposed to draw with the pen, not drink the water from it!)
This has been in Reaches Up's hands almost non-stop since he opened it. What 6 year old boy doesn't want to be a spy? The briefcase even shoots darts from the side. So cool!Reaches Up also loves his new apron, which our dear friend, Caity, so kindly embroidered for us with the title, "Chef Luke." He can't wait to get cookin' with Daddy!


Mountain Man with one of his princesses, dear Whistler.

Here Little Bit demonstrates her fine ability to open gifts.She was delighted to receive her own doll, a 12" Corolle, which is known for its wonderful vanilla scent. Some of the young men in the house think we have too many of these....
Whistler loved receiving this first book of sewing called See and Sew. It is beautifully detailed, teaching hand stitching first. Mommy will be learning right along with her. :)

Here the children show their new ornaments. Each year their MeMaw gives them each one. They'll have a nice collection when it's time for them to celebrate Christmas in their own homes. (I don't really want to think much about that...:( )

I was thrilled to open this present...a bread machine. Our family easily consumes a loaf of bread in one sitting, so it will be nice to toss in the ingredients and have a fresh loaf of bread in a few hours.

As you can see by Little Big Man's expression above, the big surprise was ipods.Mountain Man, Scribe, and Little Big Man all received one. (Little Big Man inherited Daddy's old one.) Scribe had the shuffle, and he's done a great job of managing his time with it, so we decided to give him one that actually has a screen. :) The ipods come with a couple of conditions....they'll be used to listen to books and teaching CDs and sermons, etc. as well as the music, and they cannot at any time become divisive...in other words, you can't use them to separate from or tune out the family.

A couple of Mountain Man's favorite gifts were this music stand and a guitar stand. Here Little Bit tries to show Daddy how to set it up. :)

So easy to please, Mountain Man loved his new coffee mug. However, it's such a great design that now all the members of the "Saturday Morning Coffee Club" are asking for one.

One of the most favorite family gifts the children received was the classic Twister game, given to them by their Aunt Krista. It has provided much laughter and fun, and you'll be surprised to know that even Queen Mom, at 7-1/2 months pregnant, played a round of this and actually WON! :) If I can do it, ANYONE can play!

Alas, today finds many of us not feeling so well, so it will be spent resting, taking vitamin C, enjoying peroxide in the ears (it really does work!), and praying that this will be a very short-lived illness!

Love to you all,

Queen Mom