Little Bear Cub

Mason and Emma went outside to ride the car and Landon really wanted to go, he even went and got his hat so he could go out. Sadly he just had to watch from the window cause it was way to cold for him to go out. 

Christmas Ornaments and Taking Down the Tree

Before we took down the tree I had to take a few pictures of the cute ornaments Mason and Emma have made us at school. 

I also had to take a few pictures of the kids in front of the tree, except Mason was being grumpy and didn't want to so I only got some of Emma and Landon. 

Christmas Day

This morning Mason and Emma first came in our room around 5:30, and I told them it was way to early to get up so they had to go back to their room till at least 6 which they did. Of course then I was awake enough that I couldn't ever really go back to sleep, but at the same time didn't want to have to wake Landon up that early. The next time the kids came in was a little after 6 so I let them stay in our room while Steven and I got ourselves ready to go downstairs and held them off a little bit longer. By 6:30 we couldn't make them wait any longer, so we got Landon up and got ready to go downstairs. My parents being the early risers that they are had been ready for awhile already and were just waiting for us. We had my dad carry Landon down with the other two so that Steven and I could be at the bottom taking pictures and videotaping them seeing their stuff. I think Mason saw the car first and was super excited about it, but it took Emma a little longer. In fact she came down and was looking at the tree and was asking where her rocket ship and car were! I was laughing cause they were right there in the open and I couldn't believe she was so oblivious to them! Once she saw them though she was pretty excited as was Landon who went straight for the car and didn't want to get out of it. 

Steven and I's stockings with our new comforter and then my parents stocking

Looks like Santa found the cookies

While Emma and Landon were still exploring the car and the rocket ship Mason had already moved on to checking out the stockings and I think he thought for a minute that all the stuff on the couch was his until we directed him to what was actually his. He had started pulling out all of Landon's stuff though before we caught on and had to redirect him to his stocking. We gave Emma and Landon a few more minutes to check out their stocking stuff, and also gave my parents their stocking to check out before we started getting into presents. 

Landon checking out his stocking stuff, he was really only interested in the candy!

I was in charge of handing out gifts while Steven manned the camera and I pretty much just kept handing them out until we were all done. I tired to make sure all the kids had a present to unwrap at the same time and that they had equal amounts of gifts. Landon ended up unwrapping most of his gifts while sitting in the car, cause he didn't want to get out of it. In fact he learned pretty quickly how to climb in it all by himself! He also got the hang of unwrapping his presents mostly without help as well. Mason and Emma of course had no problem tearing into all their gifts and had the typical reactions of loving the toys and tossing the clothes! 

We let the kids unwrap most of their gifts before pausing to let my parents open their gifts to each other as well as their gift from all of us. It was funny because in the last 2 weeks both of them texted me and had me order something for them to give the other one cause they didn't want the other one to see it on their banking statements! My mom gave my dad a new snorkeling set and he gave her a portable battery charger that can charge all of her electronics. 

Our gift to them was a photo book that I'd created of our cruise and everyone pitched in to pay for it. From the moment she opened it my mom was in tears and I could tell they both loved and appreciated it. They have gotten so much harder to buy for cause they just get themselves everything they need or want, so it was nice to be able to give them something heartfelt and to see that they did love it.

First glimpse of what it was. 

When they were done opening their gifts Steven and I exchanged our stockings and a few gifts. Steven was surprised to get a remote control helicopter, and I was very surprised to get a blue tooth speaker and a gift card for a massage/pedicure package at K Salon. Steven also got a new Columbia coat that he already knew about it, he got the Spiderman trilogy, a gift card for the movie theater, a new tie that matched the boys, and some candy. I also got lots of different chap sticks, chocolates, an oil diffuser, and then together we got a new comforter for our bed. When we were done with our gifts the kids had just a couple more that they quickly finished opening and then we sent them to have some breakfast before opening up all the toys so that I could get a picture of everything first. They got so spoiled with stuff that it took me forever to get everything set up to take a picture that I still hadn't taken it before they were done with their cinnamon rolls and then they kept trying to grab their toys. I quickly snapped a few pictures and then let them have at all their stuff while I got some breakfast. It was nice to have grandma and grandpa's extra hands there to help open all the toy packages so they could play with all their new stuff. After about an hour or so of playing with the kids my parents started to get ready to go and the kids raced to get dressed so they could drive their new car to the park to go sledding again. We didn't get any new snow here in Logan, but down in Pleasant Grove where Becca lives they got a bunch last night and my parents had been on the fence whether or not they'd be able to get down there, but after watching the roads this morning they decided to go for it. It was so fun to have them here for our Christmas morning and I'm always sad to see them go. They did stop by the park for a minute on their way out of the neighborhood to see the kids sledding and driving their car though.

When the kids and Steven came back they were all frozen and needed hot chocolate to warm them up. The rest of the day was spent playing with their new toys, watching their new movies, playing games and just enjoying being together as a family.  Towards the evening I was starting to go a little nuts with the mess of toys and displaced things all over the place and we went into cleaning mode which led to taking down all of our Christmas decorations including the tree and packing it all up! I'd originally planned to take it down tomorrow, but I'm on call then and they've already called with a surgery tomorrow morning, so we figured we'd just do it all tonight. It came down pretty quickly and we even still had time to play another game of "Who Is It?" with the kids before putting them to bed. Several times throughout the day today I couldn't help but look at our beautiful, healthy children and all that we have and just be so incredibly grateful for everything that we have. I know so many families right now fighting unimaginable battles and trials and I feel so humbled when I look at our 3 healthy and happy kids. I feel very blessed and fortunate that they are all healthy and that we have been able to provide for them a wonderful Christmas. I'm so thankful for the Gospel in our lives and for the opportunity that we have to celebrate and teach our children about the birth of our Savior. My hope is that as they get older they will come to understand the significance of his birth, his ministry and his mission here on earth more and more and that they will gain their own testimonies of Him. I know I am so grateful for the testimony that I have, and I'm especially grateful for all that he has provided us with because we have certainly been blessed beyond measure and have had a very wonderful Christmas. Happy Birthday to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!