Our Christmas 2012

Get ready for picture overload.  We had a Christmas full of family, traditions, memory making, and happy little kids.

We had a relaxed Christmas Eve morning and then went to church in the afternoon.  It was an AMAZING service!!!

Kate dropping off her little bank that she has been collecting money in for Living Water.

We went to Uncle Scott's afterwards for dinner, presents, and family time.

Gampy used to read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas to Brad and me every Christmas they spent with us when we were little, so it's so special seeing him read it to our kids.

Jack and Ruckus were having a little scuffle. :) 

We came home and laid out cookies for Santa and spread our reindeer food in the yard (with added carrots this year!).

Jack insisted on closing his eyes for this picture. He also insisted that his Christmas jammies be buttoned all the way up to the top.  

Mark and I stayed up late getting everything ready for Christmas morning.

We woke up early that next morning to the kids asking if it was time to open presents.  Mark read the Christmas story from the Bible like we have done the past couple of years.  Honestly, I think I heard the first line of it and then fell back asleep.  I was thankful we have that tradition because it earned me 5 minutes of extra sleep. ha! Those late nights got the best of me.  The kids dragged us out of bed and Mark went to check if Santa came and get the camera ready.

They were SO excited when they saw what Santa brought!!!  I love love love the magic of Christmas morning!!

Jack was thrilled that he got a T-Rex dinosaur. All of December, that's all he asked for. We didn't even bother buying a battery operated one, because as you can tell, he makes plenty of noise with it.

We opened presents, ate cinnamon rolls, and played with toys until it was time to get ready to go to Gran's for Mark's family's Christmas.

We had a lot of fun, good food, and time spent with family over there.

Later in the day, we headed to Mimi and Papa's for the evening.  It was so nice for the kids to be able to spend time with Gammy, Gampy, and Stuart since we don't see them often enough!

What a FUN day!! We spent quality time with family, had lots of laughs, shared meals together, and enjoyed giving gifts to each other. It's now mid January and Kate is still saying, "I'm just so sad it's not Christmas anymore." haha!