Tis the Season to Be Jolly and Joyous...fa la la!

This Christmas season has been so wonderful. I don't have enough pictures to document how much I've loved it.
Some pre-Christmas day enjoyments included:

• The Live Nativity (see a previous post about that one)
• Our traditional gingerbread cookie countdown chains
• Listening to Christmas music CONSTANTLY
• Daddy-child dates to the Dollar Store to purchase sibling Christmas presents.
• Decorating Christmas cookies
• Learning a new Christmas hymn each week. The kids actually LOVED this and I'm so glad we did it. Each Monday night at Family Home Evening, we picked a different Christmas song to focus on. Then for the rest of the week, that was the song we sang before bed (and a bunch of other times during the day). The kids learned Silent Night, Joy to the World, Angels We Have Heard on High, and The First Noel. Even Annie learned them all--she is so dang cute singing Joy to the World. It is definitely a new tradition--the kids are excited to learn new ones next year.
• Going Caroling
• Playing with our Little People and Playskool Nativity Sets
• Seeing Santa

Here are the kids with the big guy. They only had to wait in line for approximately 1 year but it was worth it. There might have been a little nervousness, but no one hesitated to sit on his lap.

Matt and I put together this fun 3-D puzzle. The kids got some 3-D puzzles in their pillowcases (you heard me right, pillowcase not stocking. We put pillowcases at the end of the bed for Santa to fill. I did it when I was a kid, my mom did it when she was a kid and I do believe my nan did it when she was a kid.). I've learned I really love these 3-D puzzle things.

We finally made it to Christmas day. Andrew was sent home from school early on the 23rd for being sick, Mary joined him in sickness that night, and both were sick on the 24th. Mary and Annie celebrated Christmas day with fevers and lots of sofa lounging and tylenol.

This was Christmas morning before we began opening. Seriously, when you have 4 kids that makes for lots of presents. Also, when you don't live close to family, all the presents from grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins end up under your tree too. Plus, I LOVE that the kids are all LITTLE and still want presents that come in BIG boxes. In a few years, our christmas tree will be full of ipods, gift cards, video games, and tiny presents and it will fit in a 1 foot space.

The little girls woke up and so Matt went upstairs to check on Mary and Andrew. This was how he found Andrew. Obviously he had been up in the night and had fun exploring his pillowcase stuff.

Whit and Annie checking out thier pillowcases. We heard them talking to each other in their room and went in to see them. It was still dark but Whit could tell you everything that was in her pillowcase. She was SO excited.

After 1 year of asking, Mary got her American Girl Doll--Kit Kittredge.

This picture is nasty but it emphasizes something I didn't want to forget about this Christmas. Annie got a pack of gum in her pillowcase. She LOVES gum. I think that the gum was really all she cared about while we opened presents. After she got like 4 pieces in her mouth at a time, I would have to take it from her and then she'd fill up her mouth again. Gross (and funny).

Happy Whit--another doll

Star wars weapon? Who would have thought Andrew would get one of those?

**If you are unfamiliar with the song lyrics in my title, you really should watch Muppet's Christmas Carol. It's another Christmas tradition at this house.