A Merry Christmas for Us!

This is the obligatory Christmas posting. I realize that no one really cares about pictures of my kids opening presents as much as I do, but I figured I was due for some pictures and I took a bunch yesterday. So, here you go!

This is our little tree. I bought this tree 5 years ago when Dan was deployed and I had to actually purchase our first tree. It was the first Christmas that we would not be going away to spend it with family, so I had to get a tree. I couldn't make myself spend a fortune on one, so I got the cheap-o Walmart tree. And look! 5 years later, its still working. A bit saggy on the bottom, where 5 years of small children have pulled and bent the "branches" and it does lean a little. We put it on the table to make it look bigger, and to keep it a bit more out of Rylee's reach. We still ended up with random ornaments in odd places and Rylee managed to get more than I had expected. While we do have a few breakable ornaments, we do make sure they are at the top!

Here are all the kids, lined up, all ready to open their first present. I love this picture because no one looks excited, and that cracks me up! They really were excited, they were just tired of having to wait and wait. Hee hee hee, I am so my father's daughter sometimes!

Marian made this adorable "Wii Remote" for Joshua. She taped it together out of paper and the back is a real dollar bill. It was quite cute, and Marian had such a blast making presents for each family member. I love that Joshua is thrilled with it!

Marian got this snow hood and wanted to wear it the rest of the morning. Such a funny girl! My little Merry-Ninja!

Rylee thought this bike horn was the best toy ever. It was very loud and such fun for her. Not so fun for my ears.

Callie was adorable and happily posed for pictures. She was happy to get several items off her list. Of course, her list was a mile long, so she would have been delighted with anything she was given!

Joshua chose this hat for Dan for Christmas. Joshua thought it was so clever that it was a Baseball Cap. Get it?! A baseball and a cap. He found it hysterical, and Dan found it funny, so it was a great gift.

Delaney was adorable. She had such a good time and enjoyed opening her presents. She also enjoyed opening other people's presents too. If you ask her, the first thing she will tell you is that she opened her gift to Joshua. (We took the kids shopping to buy simple gifts for each other, and she chose a Christmas tie from Target's fabulous $1 section.) She was just so excited to give it to him that she couldn't wait and opened it for him. So cute!

After the festivities, we cleaned up the carnage and I made the kids put their candy and loot in zip lock bags. Callie did not monitor her stuff very well. This is Rylee, raiding Callie's stash!

And on the subject of Rylee..... Here she has pushed her chair up to the shelf so she can reach the phone. She can also reach the car keys and Dan's wallet there and this has become a problem. See, she's got the phone base in one hand, and Dan's keys in the other. Such a troublemaker!

We had a marvelous Christmas. Joshua declares it was the best ever, and I am happy to hear that because I put fewer presents under the tree this year. I decided we didn't need so much stuff, and even now, after opening what they did, I'm not sure they needed what they got either! Ah well. They had a great time, and are still having a lot of fun with their new loot. I did try to focus on the reason we celebrate Christmas, and they can at least parrot the words back to me, so I have high hopes that they understand we are celebrating the birth of our Saviour. Merry Christmas to you!