Friday, December 25, 2020

{Merry Christmas 2020}

After a lovely evening on Christmas Eve of celebrating with Scott's side of the family & worshipping with our church body, we stayed home and took it nice and slow Christmas morn...as always, we begin by gathering in the kids' rooms upstairs and reading Luke 2 together.  For the month of December, that same passage was our recitation for school so Scott got to hear the kids all recite it from memory.  It was such a special treat! 



Table is set and mama made from scratch gluten free, dairy free, egg free & grain free cinnamon rolls.  I promise you they were not, however, sugar free! They were absolutely divine and it was such a treat to enjoy together on Christmas morning. 



Our tradition is to give each child three gifts.  They get a gold {an item they really want}, a frankincense {something that will bring them closer to God} and a myrrh {a item to clothe them}.  


Bear received a basketball {with the surprise GOAL hiding in Scott's office- although it was rather endearing how he was so content with just the basketball}, a new pair of boots and a beautiful Study Bible engraved with his name on it.  


Wyatt received a new iPhone, a "fluffy jacket" per his request and two devotionals {one he can use on his own and one we will do together}.


The girls were easy this year!  All Panda wanted was a dolphin and all Ailee James requested was "make-ups".  So after getting managing to only spend $35 on their gold gifts combined, Scott and I chose to give them a combined gift of a grocery store.  They have an ice cream cart by Melissa & Doug Co. that they adore so we knew this would be well loved.  They also received some clothes.  AG got a big girl Bible that has beautiful spaces for her to color and show off her artistic skills and AJ got a new devotional with Bible songs. 



After we read Luke 2 upstairs, the kids did me the honor of letting me get a quit photo before heading to the gifts. 


We started youngest to oldest and one at a time so they could see what each received.  After that, the kids exchanged the gifts they had gotten each other.  AG earned $10 and spent every single penny at the Dollar Store purchasing each person 2 items.  She has such a giving spirit.  Bear's gifts were very thoughtful and Bubba blessed me with a beautiful new teapot.  I truly enjoy watching them shop for their siblings more than anything else.  They are so intentional in thinking about what each person would enjoy.  







Bear getting surprised with his new Bible.  Due to COVID, I had a hard time finding anyone who would engrave but we still managed to pull it off!  It's such a beautiful leather Bible that I pray he wears out and spends the most precious time in. 














He was happy with the basketball but seeing them bring in the goal was truly a surprise! He enjoyed putting it together with Scott and has already spent many hours practicing his shots! 




Surprise!  Bubba was SO excited to get an upgrade! 






She got her "make-ups"!!!  And boy did both of the girls wear it! 




Fluffy jacket! 


And a warm stocking cap in his stocking! 






We had so much fun that we totally forgot about this big box sitting in the corner but how could we???  It was all she ever wanted!  To say she was exciting opening this would be an understatement! 



She sees it! 



Finally!  Her very own 4 foot dolphin!  



Dolphin is now named "Dolphin" and is a girl and eats fish (fake fish thankfully)!


We had budgeted well for Christmas so I was able to surprise Scott with a little treat too!  He had sent me an email months ago to a link to a weightlifting bench.  He's been using an old cooler or something in the garage for the past year or more so it was time! 



Playing grocery store and wearing make up! 











Bear also realized he had a loose tooth Christmas morning and spent some time wiggling it out.  He succeeded! 



Later Christmas Day, my side of the family joined us for more gift giving and dinner.  We had shrimp & grits with so many salads and delicious desserts.  







How truly blessed we are to celebrate Christ's birth!  It was a very Merry Christmas. 


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