Christmas rewind :: part 6, the Day

So we are finally at the end of our rewind. I don't know about you, but I'm sure glad! We had such a fantastic Christmas. Loved ones all around, laughing and eating and making merry, Gabe is home where he most certainly belongs, and the promise of Jesus.

Of course it was a wonderful time.

And if you're like me, you can't wait for the season to begin. I say November 1st is the start of Christmas! Jase adamantly disagrees! But as much as I'm ready to decorate the week of Thanksgiving and have our home all lit up with lights and adorned with red and green...

I'm also quite ready to take it all down. I even began to box it away on Christmas night this year! I didn't get very far, mind you, but it wasn't for lack of trying. After it's over, I'm ready for things to get back to normal. That goes for blogging too. Ready to move on and get on with life as we know it. I'm so task oriented, such a slave to a good routine. And the holidays just suck all of that out of me!

But our Day?

His Day?

It was perfect.

We actually slept until nearly 8:30! And since the gifts were all wrapped, that was fine! Jase and the boys were among the earliest risers, with the Pook and I somewhere in the middle and Syd bringing up the rear, as is her daily custom.

We piled on one sofa with all of our babies and Jase read from the Bible.

Luke Chapter 2.

To God be the glory, great things He has done for us by sending His precious Son.

We snapped a picture of the kiddies just before opening gifts. I always like just one shot of them in front of our tree and should have done it the night before when they were dressed. The flash didn't fire either...so it's darker/noisier than I would like. But still, it's our babies together on Christmas. I hope they grow to love each other as my siblings and I do and will look forward to many years of celebrating Christ's birth together.

And then we hem hawed around for a few minutes and told the kids that our 3rd annual Christmas breakfast of homemade biscuits, gravy and country ham with eggs would be on the agenda next because we had aaaallll day to open gifts.

You should have seen their faces.

And then we laughed and told them to find their spot for unwrapping! So they did and it was hard to keep up. I mean, I've taken pics of them {and posted way too many here as well} opening gifts from both sides of the family for days on end. But still, I want to remember what we gave them!

We cut back financially this year quite a bit. Jase and I spent pennies on each other and cut our budget a good bit too for the kids. Gabe's surgery and school registration is going to hit us hard in January. We will rebound sure enough. But still, it was good to scale down the spending. You wouldn't know it though by what the kids got! Between gift cards we had saved for Christmas shopping and cashing in some credit card points, we walked away with some great purchases that didn't put a sprain on our bank account as they should have!

Kennedy wanted many small things this year. A new robe, boot slippers, iPhone cases, clothes {sweaters and happy pants to sleep and lounge in}...and permission to finally begin wearing makeup! All of which she got. Plus much more. We did really well finding great bargains for her this year and she was stoked. Especially about the makeup! Seeing her open her stocking and pull out mascara was priceless! Sigh. She's growing up. And the clothes and iPhone case {thanks Mamaw and Papaw!} were just what she wanted.

Syd's big gift was her iPod Touch that was split between Christmas and her birthday. So she was thrilled to get a few small things from us...mostly a few clothes, pj's and some new boots. Her best gifts were clothes {from Mamaw and Papaw!} one of which she put on immediately and that she has worn them, no lie, countless times since she opened them.

Joel had a big gift too...a Nabi Tablet. Oh my. Have you guys seen these? Awe. Some. And he was beside himself even though he'd never seen one. Think iPad for kids. Honest. The thing is incredible. And since we saved gift cards for months at a time, it cost us nothing out of pocket. He also got several new pj pants...Star Wars and Angry Birds, his favorite things ever. Mamaw and Papaw gave him a Razer Schooter which he was thrilled with! His old one was actually a three wheeler and way too young for him. He's gonna fly on this new one, if the weather ever clears up enough for him to ride it!

Gabe was easier! Sweet baby. He's so happy with anything. He got toys, toys, toys. We gave him a Little Tikes garage to go with the airport my parents gave him. He loves these and they are great for him to play with since they make noise! Mamaw and Papaw gave him the coolest one of the day. It's like an activity station and it stands up on four legs at the perfect height for him. It plays music, teaches colors and ABC's, etc. He loves it. He also got a little stuffed monkey in his stocking {along with other things} and he's really taken to it. Gabe just totes it around and gives monkey lots of good hugs and loves. Makes this mama smile and I'm thinking it will be a good thing to take to the hospital with us Friday.

The rest of the day was spent eating {our yummy breakfast and then a baked ham with all the fixins for dinner which was soooo good}, playing with toys and watching movies...three Christmas ones actually. Our kids played and napped and played some more. Kennedy practiced her new makeup application, Joel learned about his Nabi, Gabe snuggled with mama and Syd changed her clothes ten times.

We spent time praying for our dear friends, the Burkes, whose dad suffered multiple strokes two days before. And who later meet the Lord on the 26th. We remembered Jesus and His birth and had a restful, quiet and perfect Christmas at home with our babies.