Merry Christmas Morning

Our Christmas morning was a sweet one. Chris + I woke up early to play Santa + be ready for the kids to wake, and instead they slept until 9:30 haha! We are all still somewhat on Maui time. The kids were adamant about Santa NOT coming again this year, to the point of asking me to pray against it on Christmas Eve!!! BUT, someone had mentioned to me that maybe once they experienced the magic they'd be on board vs. talking about it... SO, Santa wrote a letter to our kids this year letting them know that he was very quiet + did NOT say "Ho Ho Ho!" (which apparently is what they were so strongly against him) + he brought them each one gift because they were sweet this year... Abel's response, "That was so nice of Santa to bring presents to our house!" - So, I guess Santa is welcome now, but stay tuned for next year. We opened gifts + ate breakfast, the kids were surprised at their bunk beds + loved the ship wheel. Still hasn't changed any sleep patterns over here, but I wasn't fully expecting it to, worth the try + they've enjoyed it regardless. Lucy opened her first gift + was content with that, we had to encourage her to open more haha, and abel loved everything he got, but we could tell with each gift he opened he was waiting for his pirate ship, so sweet, he loved that most of all + has played with it non stop since. I love Christmas + am thankful for this family of mine. 

We hope you had a merry Christmas + a happy happy new year!

   

scenes from christmas day 2 0 1 5

christmas was so wonderful, but honestly i'm not sure i remember a time when it ever wasn't. this year was especially sweet because our kiddos were excited for it along with us. they are seriously at the perfect age for fun things like christmas morning + tearing through gift wrap. they woke us up at 6 am... we were super surprised, as they are not usually super early risers, but the minute abel's eyes even peeped open, he said it's morning time, we get to open our presents now?! it only added THAT much more magic :) reminded me of when i was a little girl + we would always wake our parents up at the crack of dawn when santa had come. santa did NOT come to our house as we had thought he would ha! abel had firm orders in the months leading up to christmas that santa was not welcome here, and he better not come down our "chim"... so, we didn't push that + everyone was perfectly happy. maybe next year! both our kiddos got a few sweet little gifts from us that we thought they'd enjoy, and abel made sure to tell us that "Jesus came to save the world, and he was tiny..." it's been the sweetest thing to hear this season, and also a little comical. He did in fact come to save the world, and He was in fact tiny when He got here, Abel really clung that that little "tiny" bit of information + always felt it was important to disclose... aside from being adorable, it also really hit home for me this year. i don't know if it's because i have children now or what (because obviously i've had them for a couple years now) but envisioning Jesus as a baby, and not as the miracle working man i usually think of, really sparked something in me this year. God didn't send us an immediate savior, He didn't send us a quick fix... like most good things, it took time. He sent us an infant, similar to yours or mine... "He did not arrive as a warrior, a king or a hero... God's presence arrived gentle and small, like a whisper." that felt really special to me + was refreshing in this season.

after a sweet morning at our own home, we went to my mom + roger's house and enjoyed christmas with my family. gifts, food + good company.

these two below, looked like this most of the day... i LOVE THEM.

hope you all had a merry christmas, enjoy a safe new years eve! 

a picture heavy post + a VIDEO from christmas weekend!

we hope you had a very merry christmas. we absolutely did! turns out we started a christmas eve breakfast tradition without even meaning too! last year was christmas tree french toast and this year, rudolph pancakes! i'll be excited to see and document what we come up with over the years as far as traditions go with our little family! 

christmas morning we woke at our own home like we like to do and then headed over to my mom's house or Gra Gra's (grammy) as abel would tell you. we had a the warmest morning. it started snowing pretty early & continued to snow throughout the day which was a dream come true. i mean, white christmas? seriously. we played games, ate, opened gifts, and all around enjoyed the company of one another. the littles add so much magic to christmas, there really is nothing like it. i naturally made a little video from the day. i'm so proud of myself for following through with my pledge to take more videos in 2014, i hope to continue the more full life gets and the more babies that come! here's hoping! 

above || christmas eve breakfast + below || christmas eve pigs

my mom's house is beautiful^^

the makings of monkey bread^^

^^finally got that vintage church pew i've dreamed of for years! thanks mama!

^^a full day of family + then it snowed... amen.