Christmas "Morning" at our house

 Tim and I have made it our goal to always be home on Christmas morning so that the kids can have the tradition of waking up at their own house.  It was a tradition I had growing up that I especially really wanted to continue with our family.  But with Christmas being on a Sunday this year, it kind of threw a wrinkle in things.  When ended up having our Christmas on my birthday, two whole days before Christmas day!  I can hardly believe it myself but it ended up being the perfect situation.  We weren't rushed at all to get finished before church or to start traveling and instead were able to truly enjoy our time as a family.  

The kids got up from their naps and came out, just like they would have in the morning on Christmas to see their new big toys. 

 Tyler got a tool bench and Megan got a super cute kitchen set.

 Though, they do love to share. ;)

 Daddy then read the real Christmas story from the Bible and we sang happy birthday to Jesus.

 Then, the kids sat down and awaited opening their stockings which had been filled and hung by the fire for at least a couple weeks and they never noticed!

 

 Megan didn't know what she was getting but she loved it no matter what!

 and hugged it for awhile before actually realizing there was actually stuff inside.

 Tyler getting his stocking

 I thought it was funny the first thing he pulled out was a new loofa (sp)...to which he promptly threw it aside. :)

 

 Megan needed a little help focusing so she sat with Mommy for awhile. :)

 Tyler got a new watch that he absolutely adores!  He literally wouldn't take it off for days!

 

 This is what Tyler did with everything we told him to hold up so we could take a picture.  Made it really hard to see his sweet face!

 Megan got some underwear in her stocking.  Made me stressed just thinking about the fact that she too needs to be potty trained some day.  I can guarantee she won't be easy like Tyler was.

 Tyler got some tools for his tool bench

 

 And Megan got some kitchen supplies for her new play kitchen

 

 She also got a baby that I just had to post pictures of her with...

 Those who know our Megan know that she is as far from a girly girl as you can get.  But when she opened her baby, she wanted it out of the box NOW and I literally couldn't get it out fast enough.  As soon as I handed it to her, she did this.

 It was like she knew the baby had been cold in a box forever and needed some lovin' and kisses. <3  She then laid down on my leg and proceeded to point out all the baby's body parts.  I think she might just be a good big sister after all. :)

 We, of course, had to get the toys broken in so Tim took Tyler into his room to work on his tool bench while I took Megan into her room to work on organizing her kitchen set.

 

 Tyler isn't really a kid that likes to play with toys very much but overall, he likes his toolbench and has played with it, especially the drill, quite a bit since Christmas.  Megan LOVES her kitchen set and continues to amaze me at her ability to pretend play.  She will take a cup and dump it into a pan and make sizzling noises.  Its so cute!  Especially when she wears her little apron. :)

After we finished all our festivities, we were able to skype with Grandpa, Grandma, and Great Grandma Schramm out in California so we could open the presents they sent us for Christmas. 

 The kids would run over and show them what they got.  It was cute and a lot of fun.  Definitely a tradition we will have to keep for future years!

Though having Christmas before the actual day and not even in the morning like I had hoped, we had an absolutely wonderful time as a family.  I cherish these times and anticipate next year already.