Christmas Day 2011

I think this is the third year in a row that we have been home on Christmas day and it's actually become a tradition that Bryan and I have come to really enjoy.  Not that we wouldn't love to be with our family on Christmas day, but living so far away from everyone can make it very hard trying to see everyone in one day.  So, it has just kind of worked out the past few years that our families have decided to have Christmas throughout the month of December instead of all in one weekend.  I like it because it feels like you actually get more time to visit everyone instead of rushing from one place to the next.  And, since I love the Christmas season, it makes the season seem longer.  With that being said, Bryan and I have sort of started our own family Christmas traditions....

 The Spread....I actually started the tradition of making homemade gingerbread pancakes last year and they were so yummy that we decided the tradition would have to stick....I don't know if you can tell because Hannah is a little blurry in this picture, but she is smiling after having a little pre-taste!  We also had scrambled eggs and bacon....a great way to start the morning!

 Old Christmas tree, Old Christmas tree....

 Family devotion time!  We actually started this at the beginning of December and continue to do devotion time together at night before Hannah's bedtime....She is so sweet when we tell her it's family devotion time...she goes to get her Bible and plops down right between me and Bryan on the floor.  We don't do anything fancy...We read one or two verses out of the Bible, explain what it means to Hannah, sing a couple of songs and then pray.  Of course, on Christmas morning we read the account of Christ's birth.  It is so sweet to hear Hannah say "Jesus" when we ask her who we celebrate at Christmas.  She has also started learning John 3:16 and Psalm 19:14.  Psalm 19:14 is the scripture that is now painted around her "big girl room" as the border.  "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."  If we start the verse, she'll say the next few words, then us, then her until we finish...nothing more precious than hearing your child speak God's Word.

 After devotion time, we started on gifts, which Hannah never even noticed until we brought them to her attention....

 We stuck with the basic classic toys....here she is playing with her Melissa and Doug shape sorter...

 Melissa and Doug ball popper, which she still loves...you are supposed to use a little hammer and "bop"them down the hole, but she likes to just take them out and roll them on the floor....

 I think the favorite...a set of play pots and pans with some play food so she can help mommy cook supper....

 The sensory balls weren't as big a hit as I thought they would be...

 And a shape puzzle from Grandmama...she likes for the grandkids to have something from her to open on Christmas morning...

After opening presents, we all went upstairs to get ready for church...I loved that Christmas day fell on a Sunday this year....Jesus is what it's all about...in my opinion, we should have a worship service every Christmas day, no matter what day of the week....and the choir had a beautiful music program...what a special day....

After church, we went home, had leftovers from a family get together the day before, played with Hannah's new toys, and then we all went down for a nap.  Bryan and I napped too since we were both coming down with the "junk".  

What a Glorious day to celebrate the birth of our Savior....God in flesh....thank you Jesus...