Christmas Day 2017

We woke up to a white Christmas, about 2-3 inches of snow.  I heard the kids up at about 4:00, they were just hanging out in the hallway upstairs.  Marc and I got up at 6:00,and the fun began.  We looked at what Santa had left in our stockings and then the kids exchanged gifts, they gave very thoughtful gifts, it was fun watching them so excited to see what the other person thought of their gifts.

 Lydia got Nicole a stuffed walrus (Nicole loves walrusses) she was very excited.

 Nicole got Hailey a white board and markers for her room, she now has it hanging in her room,and loves writing little notes on it.

 Katie got Lydia an outfit and a brush for her doll, she tried it on her doll and it looks great

 Hailey got Kyle a Nike shoe coloring book and colored pencils, he was pretty excited, and has already started coloring

Kyle gave Katie an over the door basketball hoop, they hung it right away and have been having lots of fun

 Katie made everyone hats and scarves

Lydia made this puppet of her and Kyle holding hands
Nicole and Katie made everyone gift bags with candy
Hailey made a puzzle in her class, it is a chicken so she gave it to Katie and Nicole
Lydia made all kinds of cute pictures and things for everyone

We took a break and ate breakfast, we have a yummy Christmas french toast that we make every year, this year Hailey made it and it was great.

Then we opened presents from Santa

 Marc needed his own nerf gun for all the Nerf gun wars here

 Katie asked Santa for a sewing machine

 Hailey really wanted one of these cameras and has had lots of fun with it

 Lydia is always making little forts in her room and calling them her reading room, so she was pretty excited to set this up in her room

 Kyle was happy to find an iphone

It was a fun morning.  After opening everything they all got busy playing with it all.  We had a big Nerf gun war, and then went sledding.

We played some new games and watched our new movie and then the kids were all pretty tired so we ended our Christmas.  It was a great day, we have loved spending the last few days together without any other things going on, we have made lots of memories, and just enjoyed being together.

Christmas Eve

We had a really nice Christmas Eve.  We loved going to church, the music was beautiful, it was nice to really focus on the savior.  After church we played Christmas games and cooked our meal.  Dinner was great.  We acted out the nativity and the kids sang and played the piano for us.  Then we opened our Christmas PJs and read some of our favorite Christmas stories.  We hung our stockings, left some treats out for Santa and then off to bed we went.

Pre Christmas fun

We have been having fun this week getting ready for Christmas.  We went on our Christmas light drive, made gingerbread houses, made cookies and delivered them to friends, and went to the Murdock Christmas party.

Puzzles

We have been in a puzzle mood around here, it has been fun to have something to work on while we hang out.

Snow

We have been waiting for it to snow here, finally yesterday we got a little bit.  It didnt snow very much, just enough to make it feel christmasy and fun.

Personal progress

Hailey finished her personal progress a few months ago, and yesterday we had special recognition meeting.  Marc and I got to speak and then Hailey told about some of her projects, The stake young womens leaders came and spoke and gave her a beautiful picture of the temple, and then she got her necklace.  It was really nice, we are so proud of Hailey, and the choices she is making.

The Christmas Orange

Haileys Drama class put on a play of the story "The Christmas Orange" Hailey was Emily, who is the little girl that befriends Rose.  Hailey did a fantastic job, she had a lot of lines and had them all memorized.  We loved being able to watch her perform one of our favorite Christmas stories.