Elliott Times: Christmas Morning at Home

3rd new post of the day-Reading the Christmas story before we all come downstairs-a tradition from Greg's family when he, Jodi, and Emily were children

Please can we go downstairs!

Looking in their stockings

The boys got snowman poop (aka marshmallows) instead of coal in their stockings this year!

Greg is looking in his stocking where he found Milka chocolate bars and a huge container of black peppercorns and Ryan is dying to open this package he is SO curious about!

Ashley and I got matching Christmas shirts

I got Christmas socks and chocolate truffles in my stocking

Max got some new dog toys in his stocking

This is Scott's present to Ryan but the method of wrapping was Greg's idea-he loves to disguise presents!

Max is sad that he can only hold 2 toys in his mouth

We had told him this gift was a mailbox or a video camera, they used all of my wrapping paper scraps and crazy bows to make it even more silly!

Ritz crackers were not part of the present though Ryan would have been happy if they had been-they are his 2nd favorites next to goldfish!

The present really was a green light saber!

Here are the kids opening their other presents for each other-they all (at my suggestion) exchanged kindle book gift cards! We kept Max out of the den so he wouldn't eat all the wrapping paper.

There was a lot of funny things with gifts this year-Greg and I each had bought something for Ashley and I was concerned it was the same thing because Greg really wanted her to have a replacement GRRRRRR-the pink bear he bought her in the hospital gift shop the day she was born. GRRRRRRR was accidentally left at the beach house in the summer of 2015.

They were both happy to have a new GRRRRR. I visited our hospital's gift shop but they don't carry the exact same bears anymore. I found this one that was the most like our old GRRRRR online at a store in Texas.

Then Ashley opened the package from Greg that was a very similar size. It turned out to be earrings-pink crystal ones for her and matching snowflake ones-larger ones for me and smaller for Ashley.

The boys got new backpacks for scout trips from REI

Ashley also got a desk for her American Girl doll

Everyone got legos except for me-and I didn't really want them!

Greg gave me these silver boards to mount on the front of our fridge because the stainless one that was in this house when we bought it is not magnetic on the front-very weird! Now I have a place to put magnets and they are also dry erase boards-it was a fun surprise for me!

Ashley loves a notebook!

Santa's naughty list from Star Wars on a t-shirt for Ryan

Greg got the boys these extremely cool multi tools for scouts!

legos and flashlights make this boy VERY happy!

Ryan still LOVES Hess trucks.

A really cool car that Ryan got from Aunt Ann-it drives along the wall

the cool book she sent Scott

Max seemed to know this package was his-it was a squeaky ball that I wrapped with no packaging. He had picked it up from under the tree a couple of times before Christmas and we kept telling him he had to wait to open it. He also stole a piece of tissue paper from a gift bag and one bow off of a present without even tearing the paper. We wonder if he could smell the ball through the wrapping paper????

Ashley got a kit to make an American Girl doll shirt and a matching one for herself and a grown up coloring book about the names of God since they are studying them in Sunday School this year!

Here is my house for Christmas and it was already put together-Greg gave me a Dickens village house-the home of Scrooge's nephew Fred-which is always fun and when Scrooge goes there at the end of the movie Fred and his wife welcome him even though he was nasty to them earlier. I think this was the first year since Scott was just 6 months old that I have put out my Dicken's village houses-Ashley had a great time helping me and thought they were beautiful!

She really has a thing about notebooks

Scott got a new wii game-Lego Batman 2

Ryan got some goldfish crackers!

a book with ideas for computer games

Here is Max posed with all of his new Christmas toys-his kong disappeared when we got new mulch in our yard this fall-it is probably out there buried somewhere but we have all looked and can't find it. The kong is the sturdiest toy he has every had!

We always have something sweet for breakfast on Christmas morning to celebrate Jesus' birthday and this year we put Hershey hugs candies in the shape of a J on moravian sugar cake that was a gift from my friend Emmalyn at church. It was delicious! and a fun treat to enjoy celebrating the real reason for the season-Jesus' birth!

After we ate, they all started building their legos!

my favorite decorated corner in my kitchen. The clear glass trees are from my parents house-mom and I had seemingly hundreds of these and would make fudge and treats for teachers and neighbors and put them in these tree shaped jars over the years and I saved 2. I bought the red berry trees and the white marble one at Target and the green glass bottle with a string of lights and a plaid bow at the top was a gift from a friend-thanks Katherine!