Christmas Joy

We had so much fun this Christmas! This was the first year that Santa had to be extra sneaky and extra vigilant. Because mommy and daddy were relishing in and having fun on Christmas Eve, bedtime came quite late that night for us. Thankfully, Kennedy slept in until 8 am. Like normal, she crawled into our bed with us and didn't mention one thing of Santa. I think Jake and I were more excited than she as we both started quizzing her with questions such as, "do you think Santa came?", "what'd think he brought you?", "should we go down and look?" Her eyes started to brighten and a smirk crossed her face as she realized what special day it was! We let Pieper sleep a little longer then sent Kennedy in to wake her up. We made them wait upstairs until daddy had the video recorder ready to capture their first reactions of seeing Santa's deliverings. Pieper was a little hesitant to walk downstairs- I think she thought that Santa would still be there! She wasn't too fond of the Jolly Ol' St. Nick this year. Though, as they rounded the corner downstairs, their excitement quickly gave in as they saw this...

They quickly dug into their stockings.

And found some fabulous loot!

The girls loved picking out gifts for each other this year, but I think they loved giving them to each other even more.

Daddy was also very happy that Santa was so good to him too.

Santa was very good to mommy as well, but since mommy is always behind the camera, you get spared of all my morning-glory photos. Darn.

Traditionally, I make Christmas breakfast that usually entails scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage, sticky buns and orange juice, but this year, Jake broke tradition and bought AND made breakfast himself. Needless to say, I didn't complain. :)

After a leisurely morning, and the girls busy playing with their new toys, we packed up and made the snowy trek over to my parents house where we ate (and ate!), played White Elephant, had our gift exchange and stayed extra, extra late.

We are so grateful for the love of our friends and family, not only at this holiday season, but all throughout the year. We recognize our many blessings and are extremely grateful for them. We love the Savior and feel of His influencing love. It is my hope that we can keep that strong spirit of the Savior in our lives all throughout the year and rejoice in His birth, His life and His atoneing sacrifice for us. Blessings to you all.