Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells...

Christmas was a little bit different this year. I was scheduled to work Christmas night, so we had to change things a little. We decided to have Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve. We didn't have family over this year....and obviously couldn't go anywhere. So, it was just a small little thing at home. We had a nice dinner, just ham. I couldn't bring myself to make a whole turkey for 5 people. It was delicious food anyway! I think I'm starting to enjoy small family holidays. I love our family, but the calm that comes with staying home and not worrying about getting somewhere, or entertaining a crowd. It's just so much easier!

We did our normal Christmas Eve tradition of opening PJs. The kids loved theirs! Peyton got PJs that said "Big Brother" on them. He loved that! And Preston's were "my first Christmas" PJs. We just did slipper socks this year...we have too many unused pairs of slippers around the house! After opening our PJs, we danced around the house to Christmas music, and started a new Christmas puzzle. I think everyone started getting cranky, and it got late very fast. The kids got to bed after a lot of coaxing, and after we threatened that Santa doesn't come if you aren't asleep. That seemed to work for Peyton. He asked if he could sleep under the tree so that he could meet Santa...I had to disappoint him :(

Santa and Mrs. Santa were up very late, wrapping presents and setting up the stockings. (it was about 3 a.m. when they went to bed). Of course they went overboard with presents again this year! It seems like no matter how much they plan on "cutting back" for Christmas, they still end up with too much stuff! Maybe next year!

The kids got up early....and Daddy made them stay in bed for a while. We were extra tired from the night before....but finally we made our way downstairs.

This was Preston's first Christmas! We know that he won't remember it, so everything we did was more for us than him. We wanted the pictures and the memories! He was such a good boy...and tried to open his presents himself by eating the wrapping off! We had to help him a bit.

The kids got all of their presents opened....to describe it in a word...SPOILED! We all got too much stuff, but it was a lot of fun! This is the mess that followed the fun!



I made cinnamon and orange rolls for breakfast Yummy! Then I went to bed to prepare for my night shift. Turns out that I was cancelled that night anyway...but you can't plan on that, or count on that happening. So I ended up spending the evening with my family....we played with our new toys and had a wonderful Christmas!