Because of our holiday schedule with family, we decided to do our family Christmas the morning of Christmas Eve.
Our rule is the kids can't come downstairs until 6:00am. Nathan is always awake for hours before the clock strikes 6:00. I'm tired, but I cherish their excitement each year- the magic and joy of Christmas as a child.
The calm before the storm...
Here they go! Stockings first.
And then it's on to presents. Youngest first- I don't know how many more years Katherine can play the baby card.
Her excitement, joy, and gratitude over every single present is one of my favorite things about her.
Nathan had a big surprise this Christmas!
Tickets to Hamilton! I'm glad we could surprise him. I just couldn't let the show come to Tulsa without taking him.
Then the opening continued.
More surprises! I think Elisabeth said, "NO WAY!" to every gift she opened.
After three years of implementing a no slime rule, I'm lifting it for my 8 year old. We'll see how long it lasts.
Sam got Gravitrax!
Nathan got a little more than Hamilton tickets.
Samuel also got 1000 dominos. He should be able to build lots of cool creations with that many.
Elisabeth seemed happy with her gifts.
After the opening, the playing started.
They played while I made waffles and bacon for our traditional Christmas morning breakfast.
Then they all got back to playing. The office turned into a Lego building factory.
Elisabeth tested out her slime kit.
We played all day and then got dressed to attend our Christmas Eve church service that afternoon.
I cry every year during the candlelight singing.
It was a wonderful Christmas Eve for our little crew.
We started our Christmas celebrations early on Christmas Adam. That afternoon we did our sibling gift exchange. The kids shopped for their siblings and for me and Matt at Dollar Tree again. It's always sweet to see their thoughtfulness in the gifts they get for their siblings.
They also know their mom well. I love them!
Another tradition on the day of the sibling gift exchange is that they get to open a family present that is always a new game. I think we surprised them with Throw Throw Burrito.
Of course we had to play it as soon as we opened it.
That evening we hosted a Christmas dinner with the Millers and Pashkovets.
After dinner, the kids performed a play they had been planning. I was skeptical because they hadn't practiced much but had lofty goals for what they wanted to do. They also couldn't seem to all agree on parts/lines etc. But in the end they blew us all away.
They started the show with a few solo performances. A couple of kids played songs on the keyboard. Samuel sang a solo and Elisabeth and Katherine performed Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
Then their play started- it was part comedy.
Katherine was a shepherd and Hannah was her sheep :)
Then it turned into a sweet worship experience. Precious!
They're already planning their next production.
These friendships- they're golden. So thankful these kids are growing up together.
After their play we sang some Christmas Carols as a group.
It was such a fun, special, memorable night. A night we'll all remember fondly.
