Every Christmas morning the kids come down the stairs and head right to their stockings. We were SO GLAD that Amanda was able to stay at home on Christmas Eve so this tradition could continue with all of our kids for yet another year (and hopefully many more to come!) . Below, Emily and Nathan are waiting their turns to open up the stocking packages.

After the stockings are opened then the kids start pulling packages out from under and behind the tree.

We all take turns opening our packages one at a time. This makes the morning last longer AND we each get to watch the others open their gifts. Tim was telling us all about the Mosquito he bought for a friend of ours and so we bought one for him and he had NO IDEA. You can tell he’s quite surprised!

One of the things the kids got me was this lady bug thing that you run through your hair tickling your scalp. Nathan loves to do this to me (LOL).

Amanda gave Nathan this CARS book/pillow! He LOVES the CARS movie so this is perfect for him. He can take it along in the car to read and take a nap. Here he’s giving us a demonstration.

Josh was having a really hard time figuring out what his main gift was this year. Tim asked Emily to wrap up her violin bow for him. He thought we were going to give him violin lessons (LOL). Tim had Josh’s bow behind his chair and pulled it out after Josh started to figure out what it might be.

Amanda saw this book at one of our friend’s house when she was babysitting for them. So, she bought it for Josh. It looks like it’ll be a good book for him since it has quite a variety of subjects.

Nathan spotted these garbage cans at Costco quite awhile ago. Emily and Josh convinced me to buy it for him although I think it’ll take up too much room (LOL).

Tim and I really enjoy watching the kids open their packages, joke around with each other, explain what they bought and why, etc.

The boys’ room is the next one on the list for getting a makeover in our home. So, we decided to go ahead and order a Fathead for each of them. Josh was SO EXCITED! He has a Chicago Bears one.

Tater has Mater.

I’m not sure what Amanda is opening, but here’s her picture.

And another picture. This year we gave the girls a budget and I took them shopping for their Christmas packages! I think it worked well. At least they were able to chose the things they wanted which eliminated a lot of the after-Christmas return hassle of previous years. And, it meant we got to spend a LOT of time together in December shopping, having lunch or dinner, coffee, etc. Here Amanda is acting surprised at something she already knew about (LOL).

Emily really was surprised at some of her things because she didn’t spend all of her budget. Instead, she asked that Amanda and I chose things for her and surprise her so we did and this jacket is one of the things we surprised her with.

Here Amanda is patiently waiting her turn.

I think I might detect a bit of a tear in Emily’s eye. She knew that I had made a little mini album for Amanda because she helped me make it. She knew that I was working on one for her, but she also knew that I didn’t have much time to work on it. She knew that I was up way past the time everyone else went to bed and that I was working in my scrapbooking room. I really did cut it close to the wire to the point that she thought I wasn’t going to get it done. On Christmas Eve morning I was STILL working on it and she came to tell me that it was ok if I didn’t get it done and that she understood I had worked on it a lot and just ran out of time. I stayed up Christmas Eve night and worked on it and FINISHED IT! So, I think she was very excited that I finished it in time. Pictures of the albums will follow in another post. Emily was so sweet to tell me not to worry about not finishing it, but I couldn’t NOT finish hers. If I finished one I’d have to finish both or save Amanda’s for another occasion. They were such a hit that I think a photo something-or-other might be in store for every year now.