A Very Merry Christmas

Heavenly Father certainly treated us to an extra gift this year with the beautiful sunrise that greeted us on Christmas morning. Breath taking.

I think the boys' eyes were as big as saucers when they walked out and saw all the presents. Jason and I never put anything out until Christmas Eve because it is safer that way. Well that and nothing is ever wrapped until the kids go to bed on Christmas Eve.

Kaden and Jase were up before Ethan and Kellan. We didn't think there was any reason to wake up the little boys or to make the big boys wait so we opened presents in shifts.
Kaden's two main gifts from Jason and me were a telescope and a microscope. He is totally into space and science and we love it! Thank you Star Wars! Unfortunately it has been too cloudy every night since Christmas to see much with the telescope, but it will clear up eventually. And the microscope has been a lot of fun. Reading all the safety instructions took me back my chemistry lab at ISU and fond memories of Emergency Mercury Clean-Up Kits. Hey they wouldn't have a kit if someone hadn't spilled the mercury before right? But Kaden was very careful with everything and we hope his interest in science will grow even more.

Jase absolutely loves Christmas. He loves the snow, the music, the lights, the presents, everything! We got Jase his first Nikon. He loves taking pictures and is always asking to use our camera, and we are always telling him no. So now he has one of his own to practice with. He takes pretty good pictures and gets so excited about them. We think this will be a great creative outlet for him and hope he develops his skills.

One of my favorite things about Jase is that he is equally excited about ALL of his gifts. Whether it's his traditional Christmas sweater, a camera or new socks he loves to hold them up with a big cheesy grin and pose for a picture.

Even new tidy whities make him happy! When was the last time you were that pumped about new undies?

We found this awesome hat in Idaho Falls and I couldn't resist.

Finally about 9:00 Ethan and Kellan woke up. Kaden and Jase were sure to be good "helpers" as Ethan started to unwrap his gifts.

Kellan was pretty happy about opening presents too.

Or maybe I was just excited to put his new Christmas clothes on him. I found the baddest skull clip on tie at The Gap. I HAD to get it for him. It was one of my favorite holiday purchases! And doesn't he look so stinkin cute. It went perfectly with his pin striped pants and red vest I found to match.

Ethan had a very Lightning McQueen Christmas. He loves Cars....and everyone knows it. It certainly made gift buying easier.

He was totally content to color in his lightning McQueen coloring book with McQueen crayons at his McQueen table set with his Lightning socks.

After we finished opening presents at our house my parents came over for breakfast. Every Christmas morning my parents join us for a sugar filled Christmas breakfast. Jason made delicious Almond Joy pancakes (he makes pancake batter and adds chocolate chips, coconut flakes and slivered almonds....soooooo yummy). It is so fun to see the kids show off all their new loot and complete outfits (right down to socks and undies) to my parents. We love having them over for breakfast.

That afternoon we headed over to The Byrd's. It was like a whole other Christmas! The boys scored new video games, a jump-o-lene, Nerf guns, books, puzzles and a bunch more. Oh and thank you Uncle Robert for not buying Kaden and Jase guns or ninja fighting sticks this year!

After we exchanged family gifts it was time for the Byrd family traditional homemade gift exchange. This year we went in order from oldest in the family to youngest. So Jason's mom had Jason this year. She had me pick out some of Jason's favorite photographs he has taken over this year and she printed them and put them in a book.

Jason was excited to see some of the pictures he has never printed. It was a very thoughtful gift.

Next, Jason had Robert. Jason worked extra hard on the wrapping.
Ethan was a big help unwrapping it.

Robert was totally surprised to get a table. Who wouldn't be?! Jason made a really beautiful buffet table for Robert's house. Tanya, Robert's girlfriend, was sure to remind Robert that this was indoor piece of furniture and he wasn't allowed to use it out in the garage. Robert gave Jason a great compliment by totally agreeing with Tanya. :o)

I was thoroughly impressed with Jason's handiwork.

Then Robert had me....again. I was a little nervous about my gift this year. Last year Robert had me and gave me a candle. Why on Earth would that make anyone nervous? Well let's just say it was a candle with "special" powers. It was made with special naturally organic....plants. And once the candle was burned to about half way there was a hidden "treasure" inside. Oh yes, Robert is always a good time! So this year Robert told me he had been working on my gift for the entire year. I thought, "Oh no, what other decorative uses has he found for "plants". Fortunately I opened the gift and found a strange black box that resembled a camera. Robert made me night vision. When you look through the eye piece of the box you can see in total darkness. RAD! This gift will be a lot of fun up the mountain this summer. AND it's totally legal! Bonus!

I had Craig this year. After 3 different failed attempts at 3 different projects I finally made him a picture frame with baseball stuff all over it. It might not have been super fabulous, but making anything with 4 boys pulling for my time and attention and after 3 melt downs, it was the best I could do. I hope he uses it.

To finish the day we went over to my parent's house for a fabulous dinner! We ate and then made the kids wait while we cleaned everything up before they could open their presents. Jase was trying to be sneaky.

The biggest surprise of the day was finding out that my brother Lane and his wife Serena are having a baby!!! Hooray!! We are thrilled for them. Lane got in practice holding Kellan. I love this picture of my littlest son and my brother. Melts my heart.

Kaden was getting tired of waiting. This was the face he made when asked if he wanted to help with dishes to make present time come any faster. Ummm...that would be a no.

Finally we were done and we lined up all the boys on the rug. Jase was all smiles.Grandma Marley brought each of the boys out one bag. Inside was a blanket. Let's just say the boys were less than impressed. Grandma encouraged them each to open their blanket all the way up. When they did they each found $100 bucks rolled up inside. The boys were stoked!

The Marley family tradition that has been carried on since 1986 has been for my parents to give Lane and I a Christmas bear with the year on it. Since we have gotten married my mom has gotten us a bear for each family member. That made 6 bears for our family this year. It is kind of a crazy tradition, but Jason and I love it!

A relatively newer tradition started about 4 years ago between Lane and Serena and Jason and I. One year we gave Lane and Serena this random DVD of an obscure television program from the 70's called Lancelot Link. Well they saved the silly thing and regifted it to us the next year, and has been going back and forth ever since. It was The Marley's turn for it this year. Can't you just see Lane's excitement. hehehehe.

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year. The best part was spending time with one another and receiving so many visits from friends and family. Especially when those friends and family all bring delicious treats! We hope your holiday was as full of love and joy as ours and your new year brings much happiness and peace.