Christmas Eve morning finally came and my kids were so excited...but what kid isn't?! Wyatt and Blake had woken up at 3am, but thankfully went back to bed until about 6am. Then the boys waited in their room until about 6:45, which I am quite sure seemed like an eternity. We let them wake Sadie up at that point and they all sat on the steps, as is tradition in Matt's family, while we 'checked' to make sure Santa had come and everything was all set up. (I am quite sure this tradition somehow started because things weren't quite ready one year and 'adjustments' needed to be made--and then it stuck!) We take the opportunity to let the anticipation build, start the coffee brewing and watch the kids react to our expressions upon seeing the loot Santa has left. When I took a picture of them, Wyatt couldn't contain his excitement, Blake was starting to get angry for having to wait so long and Sadie was just happy to see what was waiting for her.
Proof that Santa had come...
Do you think they were excited?!
Poor Blake somehow grabbed one of the presents Wyatt had wrapped at school for a project and they were just empty boxes....oops!
One of Blake's gifts was his favorite movie, Punchinello by Max Lucado---it was his favorite movie but had gotten scratched over a year ago and had to be thrown out.
He watched it on repeat--even getting some yogurt for a snack and inviting Sadie to join him. (Wyatt was content to play with Blake's new train set)
And the boys immediately got Wyatt's new WiiU setup....it seemed like it took forever to get it setup, but the wait was well worth it.
My sister no longer lives with my parents and also happened to be dog-sitting over Christmas, so we just did Santa gifts first and then called her to come on over. We missed having her there right away in the morning, but we enjoyed the Starbucks treats she brought for everyone when she came over....and it gave the kids ample time to play with their new toys and enjoy them.
A new tradition we started this year was having the kids exchange gifts with each other. Each year we exchange names between adults on both sides of the family and since my kids have no cousins, they are always wanting to participate in the exchange. So this year we had them exchange names with each other and they each had to buy the gift with their own money. Since they don't have much money, they each did extra chores throughout the month of December (which I loved) and then Matt and I each took them shopping on different occasions to look for each other. It may have been my favorite part of all of Christmas, as they learned lessons about hard work and giving and the joy that comes from giving to others. So they all sat down together and exchanged gifts....
Blake had Sadie and picked out a fishing game and 'dangly' earrings (she had been wanting those for awhile)
Wyatt got Blake some 'snow' cars---snowmobile, snowcat, zamboni, etc
And Sadie got Wyatt a shield that shoots arrows, but for some reason I didn't get a picture of that. I am so thankful we did this and it's definitely going to be an annual tradition.
Sadie had made a special gift for me one day and she insisted that I bring it with us to Madison....can you tell how excited she was when I was opening it?
It was a picture of Eve that she had colored in her Sadie-esque rainbow colors, complete with stickers and my name and her name on it.
Matt has quite the nutracker collection and the kids picked this one out for him...Sadie is still giddy over her earrings--can you tell?
Blake got a new sleeping bag and was elated that it was ORANGE, his favorite color!!
Wyatt is usually more subdued with his reactions, but apparently my parents hit the jackpot when they got him a Wisconsin football helmet and jersey
Blake quickly tried it out for size.....only in our house would you see a 3-year old boy wearing a football helmet while drinking Starbucks hot chocolate!
Sadie patiently waiting while the boys opened a few gifts and tried on the helmets
Daddy's new ski coat
Blake couldn't get enough of his new sleeping bag....rolling around endlessly in it!
We gave my mom a book of pictures of our family and the kids were so excited to look at it with her!
Wyatt finally got the Bible case he had been asking for.
It was a year of hats too!
Playing the game 'Don't Break the Ice'...I played this game as a kid and I don't think they make it anymore, but the kids play at BSF every week and my mom found it online somewhere.
A gift from Nani and Pops for Stormy Lake
After we opened gifts, we Skyped with Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Rob in New Zealand for a bit and then had our traditional Christmas brunch. I think I ate enough for a few days--those cheesy hashbrowns are just irresistible!
We got ready for church and packed up the car, in preparation to head over to Matt's parents house after Christmas Eve service. But what a blessing it is for us to get to experience Christmas Eve service, my favorite of the year, with both of our families!
A quick pic with Matt's family
Sadie was insisting on including her new doll McKenna in our family picture---we said 'no' to the large group picture but took this one just for her!
Matt and his siblings
When we got over to Matt's parents, Matt's mom had three bags of reindeer food waiting for the kids to sprinkle along the walkway.
You gotta love Blake's approach--just dump the entire bag in one spot! And then there's Sadie who probably took about 10 minutes as she meticulously sprinkled it all along the walkway.
After enjoying some wonderful appetizers and desserts, we put the kids to bed and played a rousing game of pictionary, complete with prizes. I will let the pictures speak for themselves, but it was absolutely hilarious!
(individual boxed wine--who knew they made that stuff?)
Of course we played guys vs. girls and the intensity in the room was palpable. Apparently the guys all had to stand up to get a good view of Dad's final drawing. I can't even remember who won, but know we will definitely be playing this again next year!
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