some xmas

We had a good Xmas. The kids have been pretty good for the most part. I haven't been asking myself when school is going to start back yet, so that's good. I am actually kind of sad that school starts back Monday. The big kids week off has gone by pretty quickly. Maybe I'm still used to the 2 weeks we used to get off. On Xmas Eve we ate out at Famous Dave's with Poppie and then came home and the kids opened their sibling gifts. Starting last year we instituted sibling gifts- the kids each draw a name and get that person a gift for $5 or less. They love it and are usually really excited about their gifts.







Xmas morning, everybody was up at 6:30. The kids set their alarm the night before and sure enough they were up and ready to go as soon as it went off. They originally had it set for 4am, but I made them change it. Santa came and nobody got coal. As a family we got some light sabers for the Wii and a Lego Star Wars game. We also got some movies- Sky High, Pinocchio and the set of all 4 Shrek movies. Plus Pictionary Jr. We LOVE board games and family game night is something we do a lot of, so Pictionary Jr. has been a hit! Santa also did stockings and everybody was happy with what they got. Since a friend suggested it when times where a little rough, we have been doing 3 gifts under the tree each year. A god way to explain it is that Jesus got 3 gifts, so that's what we do. 1 gift is the sibling gift, gift 2 is always PJs and gift 3 this year was a toy for the boys and jewelry stuff for the girls. Kaitlyn and Emma got hanging earring/necklace holders and Mia got supplies to paint and decorate a wooden jewelry box and they each got 3 earrings. Jude got Jingle the Pup with his interactive book (from Hallmark) and Coen got the interactive My Pal Scout. We have been playing games and watching movies like crazy and we have had a very white xmas, so we have been having tons of fun.