Like the year before, our Christmas day was actually pretty low key. Well, sort of!
With Christmas day actually falling on a Sunday, it made the whole day so much more celebratory. As a Christian, there are two holidays that are the biggest of all to us - Christmas and Easter. Easter is always on a Sunday, but this year was especially sweet with Christmas on a Sunday as well. We were so thankful to be able to start the day celebrating the birth of our Savior with our church family and fellow believers.
Knowing that even our normal Sunday mornings are always a little crazy trying to get the whole family up, fed, dressed and to church (early), we didn't plan on opening presents before church. We are very blessed that our girls sleep in relatively late, so we're often waking them up in the mornings to get ready anyway. We didn't see any possible way to squeeze in gifts prior to leaving for church.
Now, though both girls usually "sleep in", that definitely wasn't the case with Kate Christmas morning. She woke up around 7:30 and crept into the living room. I was semi-awake but still in bed, so I heard her get up. I gave her a few minutes and then quietly tiptoed down the hallway to see what she was doing. She was sitting on our couch, just staring at the tree and presents. When she saw me, she said "Look what we got, Mama!"
She was so excited, and other than the trampoline, she didn't have a clue what they'd gotten! For the past two months, the only thing Kate had said she wanted for Christmas was a Hatchimal. (For those who haven't heard of a Hatchimal, it is an egg that you take care of and then it hatches into a small toy bird/penguin.) Of course, the thing she wanted had to be the "it" toy of the year, and was IMPOSSIBLE to find. As we were sitting on the couch together, she looked at me and said "I won't be disappointed if I don't get a Hatcnhimal, Mama. I won't be sad." I was trying to figure out what to say back to her, when she pointed to one of the presents and said "But I touched that one, and it feels like an egg!!!"
At this point, Karsten was still sleeping so we told Kate we would wait for Karsten to get up and they could open one present before church. Well, we waited, and waited and waited. Apparently Karsten was exhausted! Finally, I just woke her up! She didn't even know it was Christmas, so I got her dressed and then just brought her into the living room. She was SOOO excited over the trampoline.
Karsten loves Winnie the Pooh movies, and the Disney Junior show Tigger and Friends. She was bouncing away and kept saying "Look at me! I'm just like Tigger!!" The trampoline was most definitely a hit.
Then we let the girls each open a present, and of course Kate picked the one that felt like an egg...
This is what your face looks like when you get EXACTLY what you wanted for Christmas. It was even pink! She named her hatchimal Candy Cane because the egg was white, pink and red.
Because little sister always wants exactly what her big sister has, she also got a Hatchimal! This one was purple.
While Kevin was studying over his notes for Sunday morning, I attempted to get a picture with the girls. Definitely need to work on my self-timer camera skills. (And notice who else had to be in the picture. Kate was not leaving Candy Cane out!)
Then it was time for church. We were all hungry and ready for breakfast. Our church decided to do a big breakfast prior to the service, so we enjoyed spending a little extra time with everyone. After church, Kevin's family ate lunch together at his brother's house. Kate's egg was starting to hatch by this point. Please meet the newest member of our family, Candy Cane:
Karsten's egg was a dud. It wouldn't hatch. I think this ended up being a common problem with this toy, so I'm very grateful that it was Karsten's that messed up and not Kate's. Karsten didn't really care. Kate would have been so disappointed.
After church, the girls took a nap and when they woke up, we finally got around to opening our presents! This girl was just happy to bounce away. Seriously, we had to almost trick her into opening her presents.
Besides the trampoline, Karsten's favorite gift by far was an Elsa/Anna electric toothbrush.
Kate also got a digital camera and has been our in-house paparazzi ever since. The camera holds a few hundred pictures and she will fill it up in minutes. And then delete them all and start right over.
The girls also got a Princess Elena of Avalor (Disney Junior) guitar.
The rest of the evening actually was low key. Both Kevin and Kate were fighting massive colds and didn't feel all that great, so they took naps and watched TV. The girls destroyed our living room with toys strewn all over the place. They played their hearts out and had a blast.
It was definitely a Christmas to remember.
Like many moms, I prayed and prayed for my children, even before I knew them. I love them more than I could fathom, and I love them more each and every day. Knowing how much I love my two girls, it is so overwhelming that the Father would send us His Son as a baby, knowing that he would eventually die on a cross. And he did it for me. He did it for you. We are so undeserving, but His grace and mercy are unending.
And this, friends, is the reason we celebrate.
Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel said,
"Don't be afraid. I bring good news to all people. The Savior- yes the Messiah, the Lord- is born this day in Bethlehem, the City of David. You will recognize Him by this sign- you'll find a baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger!"
The angel was joined by the armies of heaven, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth, peace, good will toward men."
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