Christmas morning

I regret not taking more pictures of Christmas morning. I video taped the kids opening their presents at the house, and also getting their new bikes from Ryan's Mom, so just imagine the excitement on their face:) Ryan and I hate buying toys (especially since I can get toys for less than 1.00 at garage sales that would normally cost $20-40 new. We have too many toys, and most of them are never played with, so this year we were determined not to buy a ton of dumb toys. The boys all got BB-Guns, headlamps, Pj's, a couple of WII games, some movies, electric toothbrushes, art supplies, and lots of treats and nuts. They didn't mind the lack of toys, and Davy even said that it was the best Christmas ever (and that was before they got spoiled with toys from Ryan's parents). After opening presents at our house, we went Ryan's Mom's house for a big Christmas breakfast, and our annual gift exchange among cousins. The big surprise at the end was when Ryan's mom made them close their eyes and they all went out to the garage to see cool new bikes for all of them with big red bows on them. They were all so excited! It was so nice to be with family for Christmas, and to be able to teach our kids about the true meaning of Christmas. Ryan's mom even bought a birthday cake for baby Jesus. The Sunday after Christmas Davy gave a talk (which he was able to read all by himself for the fist time)he talked about the best gift that we can give Jesus for his birthday is trying to live like him all year long, being kind to others, and following his example. It was nice to keep things more simple this year and try to focus on the true meaning of Christmas.