Giving

You can probably imagine Christmas morning at our house.  Kids up too early.  Parents wanting to get a few more minutes of sleep.  A mad rush to open presents.  It's all over too quickly!

The best part of Christmas morning is seeing the kids get excited about giving.  Not getting.  GIVING.  Two days before Christmas, I took the kids to Platteville to shop for presents for their dad and each other.  Ally had already done most of her shopping online, but she was good about helping the other kids add a personal flair to their gift-giving.  I love seeing the kids get excited about GIVING!  We need to do more of it for others, outside of our family circle.  That is my new year's resolution every year.!!

Shame on me for not taking pictures of the GIVING.  These are pretty traditional "Getting" photos.  But I picked these to share because they show the pure joy of getting something that tickles your fancy.  Like for Paige, it's a SOCK MONKEY!!  (She wears her crocheted monkey hat from 2 years ago still to this day.  Hopefully it will get a few more years' use)

 Wynne was already "cooking up" what she was going to make in her new Easy Bake Oven!!  (and in less than 2 weeks, she's already used it 4 times)

 Cy wanted one thing and one thing only.  Beats.  Dr. Dre is smiling all the way to the bank this Christmas.

 A silver North Face Jacket and matching boots will put a smile on your teenage daughter's face :)

 Cy gave Rudy his very first piece of rawhide.  It was gone in less than an hour.

 The general chaos of Christmas morning!

 Shae and her siblings all pitched in to buy their puppy a reversible jacket.  Because a dog needs a jacket, right?  And of course it has to be reversible.  We wouldn't want him to get embarrassed about wearing the same thing two days in a row!

 Stud.  LOL!  By the way, Rudy's been "on leash" for 3 weeks in an attempt to get him properly potty-trained.  Emphasis on the word ATTEMPT.

 It's sad that I took more pictures of the dog than of our kids on Christmas morning, isn't it?  What does that say about me as a parent?  But hey, in my defense--just look at the striking resemblance on the jerky strip bag!!

 One last shot of Little Bear with her "real life looking" Webkinz.  Given to her by big sister Ally.  Again, the sibling gifts are the best for me to observe because I get a glimpse, even if it's just for a few minutes, into the sharing hearts of my kids.  For a few minutes they put aside their differences and arguments and whining and put others first.  That's my favorite part of Christmas morning.  Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, [so let him give]; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.--2 Corinthians 9:7

“For it is in giving that we receive.” ― St. Francis of Assisi