For the first time in probably my entire life, this year graced us with a true White Christmas.
It started snowing in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, and by the time we left for church later that evening it was coming down hard. By Christmas morning the world was covered in a blanket of fresh snow, creating a magical winter wonderland that seemed almost too beautiful to be real.
It was fantastic to have the whole family together for the holiday.
On Christmas Eve, for the first time, Ryder understood that we needed to leave milk and cookies out for Santa.
And after we finally got the kids into bed, it was time to haul out a truly disgusting display of presents.
Then we spent the evening playing games and admiring our commitment to consumerism.
When the kids got up the next morning, Ryder could hardly believe his eyes...
I honestly think he would have been entirely content with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figures in his stocking.
Kiley's stocking gift was a magnetic wooden block set.
(Have you seen these things? Super cool).
The frenzy of gift opening went on for what seemed like an eternity.
Ryder was super excited about his gifts, which included a Hot Wheels race car track, Star Wars light sabers, and nerf guns.
It's possible that his favorite gift may have been the nunchucks from Auntie Erin.
Kiley was really more interested in the paper, bows, and boxes than anything else, but she did have a blast riding around on her new Radio Flyer trike from Nana and Papa.
It was sweet baby Kinley's very first Christmas!
We of course staged a photo shoot in our family Christmas jammies.
And we spent the rest of the day hanging out and playing with the kids and their toys.
Many thanks to Uncle Mark for taking such great photos of the kids!
There were so many good ones I couldn't decide which to post...
At one point Ryder became so overwhelmed by all the presents that he decided he didn't want to open anymore. So we started piling them up, and he unwrapped another gift every hour or two whenever he wasn't feeling overloaded.
Finally, late that afternoon, we were ready to take him out to the garage to see his main present from Santa...
A Power Wheels Jeep!
Again, he was a little overwhelmed and hesitant about driving it, but we're confident that he'll love it soon enough.
This was our first Christmas without my grandparents, and their absence definitely left a gaping hole in the festivities. But I know they would have loved the looks of joy on everyone's faces as we gave and received gifts.
We got some pretty awesome presents this year, but Ryder and Kiley are definitely the most amazing gifts we could ever have asked for. Watching their delight during the holiday season has made each moment magical.
We are so fortunate to have this incredible family to celebrate with.
Merry Christmas to one and all!
