Little Bryce was first to be up Christmas morning. Surprise, surprise. After such a fun Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa Forman’s house Hope and Ethan slept in. The kids had left cookies for Santa the night before and the first thing Bryce said when he bounded into our room was, “Hey, Santa ate the cookies!!!” Then he informed us that he saw the presents by the Christmas tree but didn’t touch them. He says these things very dramatically. We snuggled in bed while Bryce told us stories and after we realized that the other kids were not going to wake up we got up to eat something and do our best to hold off Bryce. We didn’t have a gourmet breakfast this year. At 38 weeks pregnant and knowing that we had a busy day ahead of us we opted for a casual bowl of cereal and chit chat. Hope soon joined us, grinning from ear to ear upon viewing the presents under the tree in the front room. And after she had a little something to eat we decided to just wake Ethan up and start the festivities. We turned on the fire and let the kids open the presents.
This year the boys enjoyed opening up toy trucks and cars, in addition to Daddy’s stocking stuffers of whoopee cushions and pop guns. Hope delighted in a Barbie motorhome and the two oldest got IXL computers, which they love! After opening presents we dashed to get ready for Church and enjoyed a lovely Christmas Sacrament meeting. It was so nice to take the Sacrament on Christmas, sing the songs, and enjoy listening to others speak of the birth and life of our Savior Jesus Christ. It is so easy to get caught up in the presents, the holiday lights, visiting Santa, that I can already see we will need to be diligent every year in focusing on our Savior.
After church we hit the ground running to make a nice family lunch. Daddy’s family came over to enjoy some delicious BBQ Steak and open the Christmas presents from Grandma and Grandpa. Then after their visit we packed in the car and headed to Grandma and Grandpa Christensen’s house for Christmas dinner and again, presents. The kids were so spoiled. And they loved it. Of course at the end of it all we felt so grateful to have such dear and wonderful family to live close to. It was a happy and fun time. We never grow tired of being with our wonderful family.
