Christmas Day!

After our nap, we woke up and finished opening our stockings and opened our gifts from Julianna.  She got me a very nice lime green (my favorite color) pearl bracelet and gave Drew a pocket knife.   She got a real kick out of her stocking this year.  Lots of little goodies. 

 Who doesn't love Travel Farkle in their stocking!  We LOVE this game! Great game for teaching your child to think and work on their numbers.  :)

 Dinner was lookin' good!!!

 She was DYING to open up the rest of her gifts, but I wanted to make the day last, so we snuggled in at watched Santa Clause 1 & 2 and prepared dinner.  Please note that I attempted to clean up after Santa, but it was pretty much a lost cause, that the living room would be clean and tidy that day! 

 All set for dinner!!!!

 And dinner was AMAZING!!!  Smoked brisket and pork ribs.  Grilled Sweet Potatoes and......

 ....Jalapeno Mac-n-Cheese!  To.die.for!!

 CHEERS!!!

 After that it was time to open gifts.  Are you able to see Julianna in the picture below?!??  :)

 She was SO excited to give us these gifts she made in school.  Adorable.

 Her facial expressions are the best.  Just what a parent wants to see when they give their child a gift they think they will really like! 

 New purse and wallet from Grandma Lili! 

 Every year I get Julianna a gift that is just from me.  Something special that I think she will love.  Drew does the same.  From me she received a bracelet with the word "Daughter" on it, in a special box with a poem.  She also got a matching ring and a jewelry box to put it in.  I can't even describe the look on her face when she opened it and the hug she gave me afterwards.  I love this precious girl so much and I am so blessed that she is my daughter!   Oh, what did Drew get her you ask?  A pretend gun with cans and bottles to use as target practice.  Yep.  Loved it just as much as the girly jewelry.  Actually she might like it a little more.  She plays with that thing non-stop....and so do we!  Every time she plays it she sayd "This was a REALLY good gift, Dad!" 

 Earlier in the summer, Drew and I saw these Lite Sprites advertised on t.v.  We thought FOR SURE this would be the must have of the Christmas season.  So we ran right out and got the set for Julianna.  Well I never saw the ad again and never saw them on any must have Christmas list.  BUT, Julianna LOVED them...and so did her mom.  We played with these for hours on Christmas night.  Seriously, where was this stuff when I was a kid.  Lauren and I would have had a blast with this set!  SO much fun!  If you have a little girl, Google "Lite Sprites" and watch the videos of what these little sprites will do.  They.are.AWESOME!! 

 At the end of the night, we told Jules she could play with whatever she wanted and we would put everything away the next day.  After we cleaned up dinner, this is what Drew and I found her doing.  Working on math problems in a workbook Grandma Lili got her. Gee, could she be my daughter?  You will have to ask my mom sometime about the time we took at trip to the Grand Canyon and all I wanted to do was go back to the hotel and read my book!  :)

 Before bed, Julianna reminded us that we still had a Gingerbread house to make.  Drew and I were pretty much down for the count by that time, but we had promised her the night before that we would do it on Christmas Day, so Daddy got out the mixer and started making frosting.  I must say, this was my favorite memory of the day.  It was so much fun to work on it as a family and get all of the "detail" just right. :)  Perfect way to end a perfect day!

 I had to post this, because I am known for coming right behind you as you open a gift with a trash bag to get it off the floor.  Or a storage container to put the toy parts in right away.  Drives Drew nuts!  This year, I didn't care.  We let the living room stay like this for a couple of days and let Jules have her fun.  She played with every toy over and over again and had a blast!  In fact I am going to get the Lite Sprites out again when we get home tonight!  SO much fun! 

 So there you have it - our first Christmas without running around from 5 a.m. til' 2 a.m.  And yes we stayed in our pajamas ALL day and we enjoyed every minute of it!  And before I forget, we did take time throughout the day to reflect on the true meaning of the day and talk with Julianna about the true reason for the season and the faith Drew and I both share and the love we have for Jesus and the love He has for us.  Her response "I know about Jesus' love, I carry it in my heart every day!"  :)

Hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Christmas!  

One of my favorite gifts this year - given to our family from my Mom and Tom.  I love thinking that this print will be in the family for years/generations to come.  Thanks Mama!