Christmas Morning

Coming down the stairs youngest to oldest, to see if Santa Clause came last night. We were able to hold the kids off until 8:30 a.m. hoping that Ava would wake up and join in our festivities. After an hour and a half of playing upstairs, we just couldn't ask them to wait any longer so we got started without the baby.

Lauren modeling her beautiful princess dress. I wish I could get away with wearing beautiful, sparkly dresses too.

Ava finally woke up around 9 a.m. and ran straight for the pony. This was a record morning of sleep for her by the way.

Miss Ava was more excited by the candy than anything else! She's not letting go of these goodies for anything. The blissful joy that pure sugar can bring to a toddler.

Grandpa Parker sneaking more chocolate to Ava. We caught you in the act Grandpa!

Ava loved her new bike. You can practically see the smile behind the paci. It's all in her eyes. Notice, she is still holding onto the candy though....

Kade and his fancy missionary tie from mom. We've graduated from the clip to the zipper! Very suave.

Kaden loves chameleons and named this little beauty "Rainbow".

Lauren trying out her new horsie, which she named "Syrup". She wanted to ask Santa for a real horse, but gratefully we compromised on asking for a rocking horse.

Sir Kaden wearing his knight tunic and Princess Lauren holding the soft, pink pony that Kaden and Ava gave her for Christmas. Notice a horse theme this Christmas? Grammie Sue and Grandpa Ric sent her a beautiful princess stick horse, which Lauren named "Sticky".

My friend Sami made this beautiful photo collage for Kevin. Click here for her Etsy shop and info. I love that the mat features photos from our family over the last seven years (since Kaden was a baby). The mat frames, The Proclamation on the Family, which is a statement put out by the First Presidency and Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It contains our beliefs on the importance of marriage and the family unit. Click here to read more from The Proclamation.

Kevin's Christmas present that was delivered on Christmas Day. Can you believe the USPS had people out making deliveries on Christmas? Kevin has spent the last several months researching watches and determining every detail and feature that his dream watch should include. We finally found it! An Accutron VX-200 Chronograph fit the bill, and even better, it was a screaming deal off ebay! He tells me "this is the last watch I'll ever own". We'll see about that (he owns two other Seikos). I think he is a collector. I love you sweetheart!

We had a lovely day of eating delicious food, playing games, enjoying Grandma and Grandpa and lounging in our pj's all day. Most of all, we are grateful to celebrate the birth of our Savior this season. We will be eternally grateful for his life, his ministry, and his saving grace.

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!