Good Morning!

Christmas morning came.  Brevin and Spencer patiently waited in the basement until Garrett and Ella woke up and everyone could be called into the front room to see what gifts Santa brought.  It was close to 8:00 a.m. before the parade of excited children entered the room and were greeted with gifts (and parents "armed" with cameras).

 Santa honored every request, no matter how strange.

 Garrett is a "chocoholic."  I'm sure it's no secret 

why this stocking stuffer made him happy.

 It must have been such a novelty for Santa to bring 

these kind of feminine things to our house.

After an hour of admiring our new acquisitions, it was a good time to take a break for breakfast.  I found a lovely recipe, courtesy of Our Best Bites, for an overnight sausage and egg casserole that was prepared the night before and ready to go in the oven when we awoke.  It was so simple and delicious, and it made our home smell delightful.  Fruit smoothies and Pillsbury cinnamon rolls were used to round off our scrumptious meal.

When the breakfast table was cleared, we gathered in the front  room again to open gifts from under the tree.  We also had a chance to see what gifts each family member had given to the person whose name they had drawn.

 Ella was given a set of  plush puppies in a carrying tote from Dad.  

While there were only four, she managed to count ten "goggies."

 Brevin gave Spencer a night vision Nerf basketball.

 Ella gave Brevin a night vision Nerf football.

 Garrett gave me the Wii video game Just Dance 4. 

We like to have jam sessions together.

 Spencer gave Garrett a pair of Stompeez slippers.  It was truly a generous

 offering, since Spencer really wanted to get a pair for himself (but did not).

 I gave Jason some new cologne and handed the camera off to Spencer 

so he could snap some photos of us.  We laughed when we saw our 

heads cut off as he was clearly focusing on the gift alone, but then he 

got a great picture of the two of us together.  I love it!

The holiday season of 2012 was one of great abundance.  There was an abundance of gifts, and abundance of food, an abundance of time with family, and an abundance of love.  We feel so blessed to have enjoyed it all together.

This post authored by Amber