The Young and the Restless

Merry Christmas!

I love Christmas.  I love the way the house glows at night, I love how Maddox has written a total of 23 letters to Santa and keeps them in a ziploc bag on the patio, I love thinking about how excited the kids will be on Christmas morning, I love checking the mail and seeing all the faces of our familly and friends plastered to my cabinets, I love how as soon as Maddox wakes up he plugs in every Christmas light and the pink boombox that plays the same Christmas CD on repeat all day long, I love the baking and I love neighbors who knock on the door bringing good tidings of great joy and enough sugar to keep my sweet tooth at bay. I love Christmas.  We started the Christmas weekend with the Natal Circle lights.  It's a neighborhood that has one street all decked out Griswald style, it's a sight to behold.

Then came Christmas eve. Christmas eve is almost as exciting for me as Christmas day. The anticipation, the kids on their best behavior, a big Christmas eve dinner and the nativity.  The Christmas jammies, checking for santa, santa cookies and sleeping under the Christmas tree in the loft. We started Christmas eve off on the right foot with our traditional IHOP brunch and last minute shopping rush. 

Then later that evening our candlelight dinner,

Christmas jammies,

And the nativity. This never goes as reverently as I anticipate.  After we finished the play and I made the kids take like 53 pictures, Jayden looked at me and said, "can we start the nativity yet?"  Apparently my narration was drowned out by the screaming baby Jesus who decided he would rather be cast as Mary and ride the donkey instead of being forced to sit in a wicker newspaper holder. 

Ryder has been folding his arms for prayers for a while now, but tonight he figured out how to kneel down. Cutest.Thing.Ever.

Religiously checking Norad Santa, which in my opinion does more to encourage the unbelievers with it's terrible graphics.  (Don't mind Jason's gashed leg that makes several cameos in these pictures. Snowboarding injury. He'll survive).

Then out to spot Rudolph. They never fail to find a red and green slow moving blinking light every Christmas eve.  That undoes any damage the Norad Santa may have caused.  It also gets them all giddy with excitement as they rush to get into bed before Santa bypasses our house.

Bright eyed and bushy tailed on Christmas morning.  Oh how I love the excited look in their eyes.

Santa did not disappoint.  A Samsung Galaxy player and a bike for Jayden...

an ihome, clothes and dance bag for Kylie...

and the little guys hit the motherload with a ride on car, Little Tike's treehouse, plasma car and toys a plenty....Santa must have overlooked the flooded bathroom and towel bar ripped out of the wall last week.

Oh, and Mr. Teddy which is permanently attached to Ryder's lips. Lucky.

and on Christmas eve Kylie helped me whip up this more manly apron for Maddox.  This boy is my right hand man in the kitchen and the orange lace trimmed gingham one just didn't quite suit him.

Santa must have been too tired to put the car and tree house together the night before and the boys were anxious to dive in and get the show on the road all ready.

Driving Miss Daisy.

We can't forget about what Mrs. Clause whipped up on Christmas eve to have waiting the next morning.  Merry Christmas to me.  I just love the sounds and smells of Christmas and the feeling that's in the air. Oh, and laying around guilt free unshowered in our pj's all day playing with toys. Nothing tops that.

Jayden lucked out to have a whole neighborhood filled with boys that get together almost every day after school to play football.  Jayden was excited to try out his new football with his boys, Jason was equally excited.

Sometimes the boxes are just as much fun as the toys

The new projector is the present that I'm the most excited about.  Friday night movie parties have just reached a whole new level. It was the perfect end to another wonderful Christmas.  So much to be grateful for. My heart is full.

And then they were at it again bright and early the next morning....it's like Christmas all over again.