Christmas Morning

I grew up in a big family with a lot of FUN people! We are all our own people, have different personalities and all do things the same, but jut a little bit different...so we do Christmas BIG in our house, but that isn't always the case with many of my siblings. I remember growing up and Santa brought us that ONE thing we wanted more than anything and then we had a stocking filled with nuts, clementines and a few little things for fun and always some clothes or beautiful handmade things!

I loved the Christmas mornings from my childhood, but I also have to appreciate and respect the way Rick, as a father wants Christmas morning to be for our children. I have realized over the year that it isn't about the "things" they get, it is a deeper, emotional connection to his childhood that is the reason behind his desire to have a BIG, abundant christmas morning!

A lot of our family does the 3 gift theme, relative to the 3 gifts the wisemen brought to the baby Jesus. I love the idea, but don't know how to backtrack after all the years of big and grand! So, I choose not to post Santa's Loot photos on my blog, FB or our family site. But, I can say they all got everything they REALLY wanted and were very grateful and surprised that day!

This photo was taken at 4:59 am (which is the specified time they are "allowed" to wake everyone up and come upstairs) with them all gathered on the stairs waiting for the green light from us!



It was a great morning and they were all so happy and appreciative. By noon, it was a GREAT morning for me as all the trash was out of the house, all the toys were removed from their packaging and all put in new places in their rooms! Now, I can enjoy my family and our christmas day together! (Darn OCD!)

Parker helped me set out the treats for Santa and his reindeer!