Christmas Day

Just for the record--this was our best Christmas EVER!! The reason is we all slept in. There were no little children in this house necessitating an early rising. Well, there was a baby...Newland...but he wasn't aware it was Christmas and he didn't have an agenda of needing to be up super early so he could open up all his Christmas presents before the crack of dawn.

When Ben finally moseyed down to the kitchen for breakfast, he was happy to see Santa had gifted the Thomas household with the traditional little cereals.

Glen wanted to try his hand at a different version of prime rib for Christmas dinner. Last one was covered in rock salt. This one was covered in herbs and seasonings. Yes--that is Glen actually chopping up fresh thyme. He was quite the meat chef. Thankfully, we had so many leftovers from the night before that I didn't even have to make anything to go along with it.

I was finally starting to feel the second 10-day round of antibiotic kicking in to fight off the pneumonia. That many days of being so sick definitely took its toll on me. I was feeling much better on Christmas than the day before, so things were definitely looking up!

Here are Abe, Klarissa, Newland and Ben ready to open gifts.

Rebecca and Sarah's families had done their stockings and Santa gifts at their own homes and joined us here at 11 a.m. to open presents together. Brooke was super anxious to show us what she had gotten. Looks like a My Little Pony extravaganza for her.

Let's just say we may have heard the Ponyville ferris wheel music at least a thousand times that day.

Poor Carson was sporting a cut eye. We were happy it didn't need stitches.

Abe kept the little people entertained for a few minutes with his car antics.

Caroline was having a great time lounging on the couch eating her little cereal while we had family pictures taken by the Christmas tree.

We were missing Jacob in this sibling picture.

Time for the presents!!!

We had the best idea ever!! We fed the little kids lunch at noon and then when the prime rib was done cooking in the mid afternoon, we were able to have an adult dinner while the kids napped or played with their new toys. It was perfect!

Brooke and Caroline talked Glen into playing Candy Land with them.

Mom and Dad arrived on the scene in time for dinner...or so they thought... Dinner was delayed quite a bit because it was taking the prime rib much longer to cook than the recipe suggested.

It was a good time for Mom and Dad to open their gifts. Look! We have matching gifts... Let the tradition of going to see plays at Hale Centre Theatre continue!

Sarah and Rebecca not only gave us updated photos of their families, they gave photos to their grandparents as well.

While waiting for the prime rib to cook, we all congregated in the living room to read the story of the birth of Christ. Here are Dallas and Rebecca cuddling on the couch. They were thinking about their anniversary the next day.

Dad was ecstatic when Abe loaded all his ward's phone numbers into his new cell phone. Dad's trying hard to become a cell phone enthusiast.

Dad was chosen to be the one to read from the Bible.

During the reading, Carson was eyeing Caroline's new baby doll. She was trying to distract him with the rattle.

When she wasn't looking, he went in for the grab.

   Dinner finally is served. And boy was it worth the wait! YUM!! Great job, Chef Glen!!!!

Finished up the evening with a rousing game of cards. (Notice Brooke takes the importance of wearing a helmet very seriously.)

The end of a very lovely Christmas day.