Christmas Morning

There is something magical about waking up on Christmas morning and seeing all the presents under the glowing tree.

So, when I woke up at 6am to the sound of a loud thump, that I quickly recognized as Jessica jumping off the top bunk in her room, I just smiled to myself and rolled over into my cozy bed. We were up late, as usual, and I was still so sleepy. I layed there for a few minutes and listened to sound of little feet running up and down the stairs.

Jessica will sleep until noon if we let her. She must have set her alarm. I finally pulled myself out of bed to check on them. The door was closed in the girls room, but the light was on and I could hear the excitement coming from the other side. They must have remembered the rule I set the year before- no waking up mom until the sun comes up! (I had a nursing baby!) I didn't open the door, excited that I might be able to steal a few extra minutes of sleep.

I climbed back in bed and remember when I was their age, sneaking downstairs on Christmas morning with my big sister. Soon, I heard giggles again and more feet on the stairs. I was pretty sure I heard wrapping paper this time. I crawled back out of bed and found the girls in the middle of the presents, trying to sort out which ones were for them. I laughed at the sight. It made me feel like a kid again. They put the presents back where they were. It was still too early to wake everyone up, but I let them break the rules and see what was in their stockings.

I went back upstairs once again and climbed into my warm bed. I couldn't sleep. I was excited too. It was so fun to see the girls so excited and acting just like I did with my sister. It gave me a small glimpse into the future and a hope that they may someday be each other's best friend. They were creating memories that they will always have.

It made me grateful for the friendships that I have with my sisters. They have each been there for me at different times in my life. They are not just my sisters, they are my friends.

When I knew I couldn't really fall back asleep, I rolled out of bed and went downstairs. I turned on the Christmas music and the oven for the cinnamon rolls. I asked the girls where Austin was. They said they tried to wake him up earlier, but he knew he couldn't open any presents until we were awake, so he went back to sleep. He is growing up way too fast for me!

Soon everyone was awake.

Danale and Justin had spent the night. It was so fun to celebrate Christmas with them and Colton!Every year, I have taken the kids out to buy gifts for each other. This year, I had them work to earn "Christmas Money". They could earn $1 every 15 minutes they worked around the house or helped with the baby. They didn't have to work and they didn't have to buy each person gift. There wasn't any rules attached to it other than it had to be spent on someone other than themselves.

When Jessica had earned $6, she asked if I would take her to Target to go Christmas shopping. She was really disappointed when she saw that a webkins was $15! She felt like she had worked so hard and she couldn't buy what she wanted. I thought it was a good lesson for her. She was finally starting to see the value of money and time. She decided not to buy anything and wanted to go home and earn more money.

I was so proud of all of the kids and how hard they worked for each other. I think it made them a little nicer to each other when they saw their brother or sister working to buy them a Christmas present. Austin bought Lauren a pink dragon webkins for Christmas. It had been at the top of every Christmas list she made! Austin was so excited to see her open it!

Jason bought me a new camera! I can't wait to learn all about it! We were all pretty excited when Ashlyn opened her own cell phone! It makes noise and feels like a real phone! I hope it keeps her from chewing on ours!Austin's reaction was great when he saw his basketball hoop. "Are you kidding me! Thanks!" as he threw his arms around me. Priceless...The babies loved his basketball! Colton would let out the cutest belly laugh when Austin would bounce it.

This is how our house looked after we had opened all the gifts...

I'm a little behind on adding my pictures to our Family Photo Albums, but check back in a few weeks if you want to see more pictures. I should have them all updated soon! I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!