Christmas Day (Beutel Christmas)

On Christmas morning, we had to wake up the kids (not surprisingly).  They were pretty willing to wake up, though, when they remembered that they got to open their stockings!

I didn't get a picture of them filled, but I did get a picture of them hung. :)

Excited for stockings!

After having cereal for breakfast and getting dressed, we had enough time to try for some pictures of all the kids.

Look at our three little precious ones!  Tirzah was hilarious.  I had woken her up and gotten her dressed, but she was in such a great mood.  I don't think I was even acting very silly, but she was giggling so hard that the other two were laughing.

She even kicked her foot in the air! :)

After church, we headed to the cabin around 3:30 to eat some crab legs...something I was so glad was a repeat from last year!

Oh, yum.  I have to say I was better at getting the meat out this year than last year. :)

Dad grilled us all some delicious steaks, and we had a very good supper.

Once the cabin was cleaned up, we headed back to the house for presents.

Anni loved playing with the brightly colored boxes, and it was so cute because her polar bear jammies made her nearly blend in!

Nora was excited to open presents!

Max got a fireman outfit from his grandma and wore it for the next few presents he opened.

Aunt Katy got Max and Nora Angry Birds, just like last year...but this year they were bigger!

When they saw their birds, both Max and Nora exclaimed, "That's my favorite!" :)

Grandpa got some quality time with his two baby girls.

After presents, it was time for pretzels!  Melissa has made pretzel dough the past couple of years, and they are SO so good.

Katy, Dad, Tim, and Melissa rolled them out.

Looking good!

Once the snack was all eaten, it was bed time!  All of us stayed overnight, so after the kids were in bed, a few rounds of Rook were played and a couple games of Blokus.

Ready for bed!  These two...some days they are best friends and some days they can't play two minutes without someone screaming or crying...but I'm glad I know they love each other, even when they fight!

The next morning was pretty slow going...this is what kids look like who have been at family gatherings for the last 4 days in a row!  Also, note Nora and Elena sitting together wearing princess dresses...this is a pretty common sight now...the girls are already playing together more than Elena and Max play together.  Not surprising, and thankfully Max doesn't usually mind too much! :)

So there you go, a recap of all our Christmas celebrations.  I am thankful we were all mostly healthy, and I'm glad that I was able to see Christmas through the eyes of Max and Nora.  This is the first year that they both knew what it was all about, and even though they loved the presents, they loved hearing about and seeing Baby Jesus, the shepherds, the angels, etc.  It really made me think throughout the entire season of what a miracle Christmas time really is, that Jesus sacrificed being in heaven for a time so he could be a baby here on earth and ultimately give his life as the sacrifice for our sins.  May we keep Christmas in our hearts all year round as a reminder of how much God loves us!