First Christmas in Photos

Truth be told, Ian and Alec slept in on their first Christmas at home. Their older brother and sisters beat them to the stockings and to the Wii, but an hour or two later the little guys decided to join in the fun!

These are the very first pictures taken of Ian and Alec on their very first Christmas at home. I love the light in their eyes as they hug their stockings and smile for the camera. They didn't quite know what to make of everything, but they truly enjoyed every minute.

Since the boys weren't sure at first what to do with their stockings, we put big sisters Eva and Isabel to work showing them the ropes. Occasionally we had to slow Eva down as she was a bit over-zealous with her "assistance" (read: hurry) in opening gifts, but the boys caught on quickly and soon were handling more of the unwrapping on their own.

The main theme in Ian and Alec's stocking this year was cars ... lots of matchbox cars, and a toolbox for each of the boys in which to store the cars.

But there were also swim goggles (shown glamorously in a previous post) and fruit snacks from the USA and granola bars and play-doh and colorful bouncy balls ...

Each eliciting exclamations of excitement and enjoyment as seen in Alec's expression below (don't you appreciate the alliteration in this sentence, by the way??)

Needless to say, the snacks didn't last long! After all the unwrapping was said and done, the boys were happy to set their toys aside and just munch on this fruity goodness from Sunkist. :)

Eventually we pried the big kids from the Wii and began opening a few other gifts that were waiting. The scene of five siblings opening a family/group gift looks something like this:

Some of the gifts had traveled quite a long ways, including these Thomas the Train toys all the way from Delaware. Honestly, I never knew Ian was such a fan of trains but he has loved these (and I say "these" plural because he quickly took control of Alec's train and has pretty much maintained that control ever since!)

I know we will look back on these pictures in years to come and marvel at this first Christmas and the answered prayer that it was. Even the days leading up to Christmas were sweet, listening to cries of "Ohhh lights! Pretty lights!" as we plugged in the tree and cuddling the boys close as we read portions of Scripture and hung Jesse tree ornaments in preparation for our celebration of Christ's birth.

Christmas Eve especially will not be forgotten, as under the night skies and shining stars with the chorus of ocean waves crashing in the background, we shared our newly established tradition with Ian and Alec and sang Christmas carols while snuggled as a family onto blankets spread on the sandy beach. Finally all together, singing praises to the One Who made the first Christmas possible and every subsequent one as well.

Glory to God in the highest ... and thank You for the peace of being a family together, at last.