Merry Christmas!!

We love the movie and cook Christmas Oranges so we started a new tradition this year.  Ben and I put up some oranges on the tree.  The kids thought it was so cool when they saw them in the morning.  Hopefully it will help them to be grateful for what they have and what they get.

I love the excitement on their faces as they get out of bed and realize it's Christmas and race up the stairs.  

We also started the tradition of letting the kids open their stockings first thing when they wake up.  They raced up the stairs, grabbed their stockings off the piano and rummaged through them.  

Then cinnamon rolls and their oranges off the tree.  

They started rummaging through the presents before we were finished eating.  We usually stop them from looking at the tree until we are ready to sit down and open them because that's what I did growing up.  That wasn't Ben's tradition but he let me do it.  This year we did it differently and it was fun to see the excitement on their faces.

Since we read through the story in Luke 2 on Christmas Eve, we read from the Book of Mormon in  3 Nephi about the sign of Christ's birth to the Nephites and Lamanites in the Americas.

(she loves her Africa earrings Mom and Dad)

I just love these pictures.  Their faces show their excitement.  

(This was the cutest.  After Kamri opened her gift from Evan she jumped up and gave him the BIGGEST hug.  I don't even remember what it was but obviously she liked it.)

Nothing better than a box full of Ninja Turtles

And the most excitement over a present was shown when they opened up our 2011 blog book.  I hate that it takes me so long to get to it and by the time we get it some of the things are 2 years old and I want to get it done sooner but they love opening it as a gift on Christmas.  I don't know if I should always just wait and do it or if they would be just as excited about it earlier.

Asia wasn't up when the rest of us were.  We finished all the presents long before she got up so she has all the attention for the whole two minutes it took to open hers.

She couldn't wait so she had to open one while we changed her diaper.  Ok, she really didn't know what was going on but she was NOT happy so we let her open one first thing.

And of course, she loved ripping the paper.

We couldn't leave Asia out of our family pictures in front of the tree.

It was good morning!!