Magical Christmas Morning

Since mom, Natalie and the boys got iced in at our house on Christmas Eve we knew that meant the boys weren't going to have all of their gifts from Santa since they would be at Nana's house. Of course we all knew how disappointed the boys were going to be this morning so after they all went to bed, I came up with a plan. I remembered I had stocking stuffers for mom, Natalie and the boys and since we got new stockings this year we had some extra ones. Justin got the stockings down and we put the stocking stuffers we already had in them. That got me thinking and I knew we probably had some more things we could give the boys around the house. So Justin and I started tearing the closets and the garage apart looking for anything they might like. We finally found several things for them and got it all set out for this morning. I decided Santa should probably leave a note explaining to them what was going on.

Let me just say that what could have been a pretty disappointing Christmas morning for all of us, turned out to be one of the most memorable and magical Christmas mornings for me. I didn't sleep that well because I was so excited to see the looks on the boys faces. You see we had explained to them before they went to bed that they were going to have to stay at our house but that Santa would be bringing their gifts to Nana's house so they would have to wait until the roads were clear enough for us to drive to Nana's to get their gifts. I woke up early and put the cinnamon rolls in the oven. I wanted to start a tradition of making the Pioneer Woman's famously delicious cinnamon rolls to have every Christmas morning but with all we had to get done in the one day we had when we got back from Houston I didn't get them made. So I was thrilled when my sweet friend Hannah brought some over for us that she had made so all I had to do was pop them in the oven Christmas morning!

Growing up we knew we could not get out of our beds to go see what Santa had left until we heard Bing Crosby singing Silent Night. It took everything in me to wait until 7am to play the song. Just hearing that song playing loudly through our house on our first Christmas with Ava Kate got me a little emotional. The boys came running out of their room and I told them Santa had left them a note. I read them the note, fighting back tears the whole time. When I was done reading Keller had the biggest smile on his face and he said "Santa is sooooo nice!" Precious! We all ran in to the living room to see what he had left. Keller got a remote control dinosaur that walks, dances and makes all kinds of noises. He probably told us 20 or more times over the day how much he loved it and how nice Santa was and he did mention that he had been wanting it for 59 years, pretty good for a little boy that is not even 5 yet, ha! Ethan got a truck hauler and a race car and he too was very pleased with his gifts. He loves trucks and heavy equipment! Santa brought Ava Kate a big girl chair (actually from us and Nana and Pop) & a shopping cart (thank you Browns for that Toys R Us gift card)! Mommy and daddy got her a tea set for the bath tub, a baby doll and a microphone (mommy can't wait to have concerts with this)! My favorite gift was the book of the first part of my blog leading up to Ava Kate's birth that Justin made for me!

After we opened gifts we enjoyed watching the kids play with their new toys, ate some of those yummy cinnamon rolls, read books & even jumped on the bed while we waited for the roads to clear up. Once we got reports that the roads were cleared we loaded all three carseats that we own in the car and all piled in to head out to Nana and Pop's house. Pop had decided to go on home the night before and get everything ready for Santa so we were all sad that he didn't get to be there with us Christmas morning. When we got there the gift opening resumed and there were lots of them and I'm pretty sure a gift opening record was set! Santa brought a darling kitchen for all three of the kids. Keller got a Wii and lots of games and accessories for it! Ethan got a work bench and tools and more trucks! Ava Kate got a jumperoo, some precious pj's and from Aunt Natalie and her cousins she got her first purse complete with a debit card, lipstick, cell phone and keys! After that we all headed over to Grandmother and Papa's house for lunch with everyone. After lunch we enjoyed napping, playing the Wii, watching football and playing scrabble!

Before we ate lunch Papa read us a story out of his devotional book. The story was about a pastor that had a dream that there was no baby Jesus and how that would impact life, a dying woman had no comfort in knowing she was going to be with her heavenly father, no Christmas celebrations, no hope! It definately made me stop and think about what my life would be like had Jesus not been willing to leave a perfect place like heaven to come to a sinful place like earth and live and then die a horrible death on a cross for me and for you. It is so easy to get caught up in the magic and wonder of Christmas time and forget what the real wonder is all about, the wonder of a love so deep it would make such a huge sacrifice for very undeserving people! Wishing a blessed and merry Christmas to you all!