christmas morning at home

I could tell you that the kids woke up bright and early on Christmas morning, but that would be a lie. There was nothing bright about the pitch-black sky we awoke to before 7:00am. We were joyful, though, (even the sleep-deprived parents) and all snuggled together in Cooper's room for awhile to do our final Jesse Tree devotion... to remind ourselves of a similar dark sky under which baby Jesus, God in the flesh, was born so many years before.

I could also tell you that the kids were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed but that, too, would be a lie. Just look at these faces when we presented them with  their Christmas gifts (you may have to click on the photo to enlarge):

Ha! This year, we gave each child just one "big" present and then filled their stockings with little goodies. At first, they were a little... unsure.... of their trampoline and activity table.

Moments later, it was pure giddiness!

It made my heart happy to see them loving their gifts! Success!

The stockings were a big hit- lots of fun surprises. For Cooper, the highlights were a Thomas shirt and Thomas electric tooth brush (can you sense a theme?).

Annabelle was pretty uninterested in her little toys, but was totally intrigued by the edible treats. You can tell she hadn't experienced these before... taking the wrapper off was a new concept. :)

Cooper was soon over the stocking and back to focusing on the jumping. And the face-making, apparently.

Per usual, for Annabelle it was all about the food. She's her mother's child.

This year was our first time celebrating Christmas morning in our own home. While there was part of us that was sad about all that we were missing, the morning was so sweet and so much fun for us all... we knew it was the right decision for our family. And how great to see these two, wearing their new Christmas pajamas, sitting together in front of our tree? Priceless.

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Later that morning, we headed over to my parents house to spend the day with my side of the family. One of the benefits of living in the same town!

The day held many happy memories with Grandpa and Mammy, cousins, and aunts & uncles, more exciting gifts, and lots and lots and lots of people (15 to be exact)... it was a crazy day!

Cooper thrived and took it all in stride, for the most part. He eats up any time he can spend with his cousins, especially.

Annabelle loved it all, but didn't handle all the action quite as naturally as Cooper. Again, she is her mother's child. It did make for an extra-snuggly baby, which her daddy sure appreciated!

Unfortunately, amidst all of the fun, I didn't manage to take many pictures of the rest of the day. Suffice it to say, we had a blast and treasure time with every one of those wild Andringas!