Christmas Morning

Christmas morning is magical!  Even as an adult, it is so fun to get up before the kids and just enjoy the quiet peaceful morning full of wonder.  Our Christmas tree lights are on a timer so it is lit up the moment I see it first thing in the morning.  I just love how it looks when it is semi dark outside and the rest of the house lights are off.

I actually had a hard time getting the type of tree I wanted here in Japan.  I ended up buying a fake one on base and flocking it myself.  I like how it turned out and am planning on buying more decorations for it next year.  I had to pace myself, and since the tree itself was a big purchase, more ornaments will have to wait.

A couple other of our decorations in the wee hours of the morning.

I finished making my kokeshi nativity weeks ago, and Penelope even made a mini one off to the right.  It is so cute!

 The kids were ready upstairs but I made them wait for a picture before running down.

 Stocking time!

Penelope and Scarlett love their new non-prescription glasses and have been wearing them almost nonstop since they got them.  Both girls say they like their own color better.  Its always hard for me to decide if I should get them two things exactly the same or slightly different.  The same means they might get mixed up, different means one might wish she got the other color.

We have two sets of stockings now and we love both sets.  So I put up one for decoration all month and the other set gets filled and put out Christmas morning.  It seemed to be a pretty good system.

I like to have everyone take a mini break after stockings to eat breakfast before we do presents.  It works well because it gives everyone time to enjoy what they already received before the present craziness.