Monday, December 28

Christmas Morning



Shawn made this little trough in 1997.  We lived in Nebraska and he was in dental school.
I wanted to start a new family tradition, and without powertools or any tools to speak of, Shawn made this for our family.
We have it out and use it every Christmas.
And on Christmas morning, baby Jesus is always there for us to welcome to our home.

Shawn got up before anyone on Christmas morning and started a fire in the fireplace,
it was amazing to gather around the fire and open presents.


Savannah, Christian, and Ty really embraced gift giving this year.
Each of them saved and purchased or cleverly made a gift for each person.


The kids always laugh at the fact that the stocking stuffers
never, ever, actually fit inside the stockings (this year our merry little buckets)!


Although, I have included this shot of Shawn's 'stocking'... see?!  His fit, there, it can be done!

We have no rhyme or reason to digging into stocking gifts... we just go at it.
But the presents under the tree are all handed out and then we take turns opening and oooohing and aaaahing.



One of this year's highlights, is the treasure hunt Christian created for his dad.
Shawn had to read 13 different riddles, one at a time, figure them out... go to the location, and retrieve the next clue.
Hilarious!


Final clue led him to Christian's bedroom closet,
where Shawn found a glow in the dark key chain that Christian got for the key to Shawn's new mower.
And the fact that the key chain also has a real scorpion in it, made the fellas think it was the coolest thing e.v.e.r!

I have to make note that our family once again got a wonderful album of pictures from our neighbors,
capturing sweet, everyday moments our children have spent together the past year.
 
My sil, Alisha, and I hostess the 2 biggest family dinners each year. 
Alisha does Thanksgiving and I do Christmas.
She and I used to dream of having special sets of dishes for these meals,
but truth be told we rather spend our money on gardening supplies, composters, trees, crusty antiques, etc.

But I did finally get some holiday dessert plates this year.
I saw them, fell in love with the random 6 patterns, and took the plunge.
These should  more than fill my urge for Christmas pretties for the table!


Very thankful for the time we now have with Shawn home,
we laze around, get a few tasks done, but otherwise we truly hang out together.
Love this time of year!!

9 comments:

shari said...

I love your family tradition with the baby Jesus. The trough is adorable. YOur dishes look great with your stuff.

kg said...

Love those dessert plates!

MrsMama said...

Love the baby. Love the dishes. Love your Christmas pails - how creative is that?! Love that scrapbook - what a great gift.

Thanks for sharing your family Christmas with us. :)

Miss Mustard Seed said...

The plates are gorgeous and you have such a sweet family. The Christmas treasure hunt is such a fun idea. Great pics! Thanks for sharing your day with us. By the way, you have got to show me a picture of the clock above your fire place. I'll look around your blog a bit more to see if there is one...

The Happy Haynie Family said...

Looks like you had a very merry Christmas! Love the plates.

Lisa @ Fern Creek Cottage said...

Your new plates are so pretty! I also think your fireplace is really beautiful. But my favorite thing is the great smiles on the happy kiddos faces!!

Stefanie H said...

LOVE those plates :)

B said...

Those plates could not be any more perfect for you! I would have guessed you designed them yourself. For real.
Now, if only I could swipe two of those designs which are PERFECT for me, I'll be happy. ;)

Stefanie H said...

Dawn can I ask you a question? What is the paint color/brand that you used in your house? I'm so absolutely in lovey dovey with it :)