Merry Christmas 2014!

Let me start off by saying that we waited kinda late to get our Christmas tree this year and when we finally got looking, all that was left were the shorty trees.  I was seriously about to cry, thinking we'd have to have a Charlie Brown tree.  We stopped by a nursery and they had some good ones to choose from, so we paid for our tree and took it home.  Once we got it set up, I was so happy and think it was actually one of our prettiest trees yet!

Christmas morning, of course the kids had to get out of the trap that Matt sets every year.

When everyone came down the stairs, they were THRILLED to find some brand spankin' new electronics!  IPod touches for the twins and 3DS's for Gav and Preston.  They were so into their new devices that we just let them play!  We didn't see the need to rush, and for the first time ever, we took a pause on opening gifts to eat breakfast!!

But before we ate, the funniest part of the morning.  I got the baked French toast out of the oven and Hayden kinda just followed me into the kitchen.  She looked out the back door and said, "Do we have a trampoline?"  The kids were like, "No, we don't," then she said, "Yes, we do!!" They all FREAKED out and immediately ran outside to try our new trampoline out!

I think everyone was pretty happy with what they got!  Of course Matt spoiled me by getting a Silhouette Cameo (cutting machine) and Ugg slippers!  That's exactly what I asked for!  I got him a couple new shirts, including a Carson Palmer Cardinals t-shirt.  'Cause what's better than having a shirt with your name on it??!  He also got a gift cert to Top Golf.

We ran up to Palmers' for a couple hours, but we were hosting the Hamilton's at our house for dinner so we hustled back to get everything ready.  We did our family gift exchange before the extended family came for dinner.

I loved her outfit allllll day!!
Colored skinnies on little girls?  Adorable!

Two little hooligans - Preston & Ashton

Caaaaaaaandy!!!!

Heston is happy with his gift from us!

Don't these gifts just scream "BISHOP??!"  lol

This is what I got my mom.  She cried.

The delicious spread!  So much good food!!  Smoked ham from the Pork Shop (local)
salad recipe from Our Best Bites, roasted parmesan green beans from SkinnyTaste and
Cranberry Fluff from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, all my fave food bloggers!

And my gorgeous chocolate peppermint bundt cake!!! {link}

Uncle David has a sweet spot for this little lady!  She's his favorite!

The Christmas season seems unavoidably crazy, especially with the end of the school semester and kids born on either side of the holiday, but I sure love the buzz in the air, the sights, the sounds and the goodwill toward men that seems abundant during this time of the year.  It's hard to let go of all of that once the hustle and bustle dies down.

The church put out this video, He is The Gift, and we were encouraged to share on social media- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzjFEMmM0Xs

I sure am grateful for the birth of our Savior, THE GIFT to the entire world, sent by a loving Heavenly Father, to save us all.  Joy to the world the Lord is come, let Earth receive her King!