christmas morning 2015

I try every year to trick the boys into thinking that we aren't going to open one present on Christmas Eve this year, but they never seem to believe me.  I do think they were a bit fooled this year, when they opened this one box for everyone, and there was no way it was big enough for four sets of pajamas.  Inside were clues for a treasure hunt though, which eventually led to, of course, new pajamas.  Tricking them year after year is getting harder and harder. 

This was the view from the stairs, as we headed to bed on Christmas Eve to wait for Santa to visit us, for our first Christmas in our new house.  

Is there anything better than Christmas morning with little kids?  I highly doubt it.  The excitement, the joy, the laughter, the exuberant "thank yous!"  and the memories made.  Every year, I really try to soak it all up, because I know that far too soon, there will be no more little ones in our house, and Christmas just won't be the same.

Santa brought Everly this baby doll and stroller, and my heart just about burst watching her play with it that first morning.

These kids are the best!  They were excited, and gracious about every single gift they opened.  That alone made Christmas morning magical!

Somebody awesome gave Bart this guitar for Christmas, he immediately started to learn how to play it, and has been practicing nearly every evening since Christmas.  He's become quite good in such a short amount of time, if I do say so myself.  Not too much longer, and he'll be playing gigs on the weekends, right?