christmas

we have this rule: no one is allowed down where santa delivered the goods until everyone is awake. everyone goes down together. this rule has never been broken.

so, here is sela and kj, obedient children as they are — standing at the top of the stairs trying to see as much as possible, and almost dying from the pain of waiting. waiting for their older sisters to wake up and get out of bed so they can go downstairs {insert: kiana moaning from her bed about how tired she is, each time sela sneaks in and tries to wake her up…}

this is new: santa footprints… because our fireplace was hot, he magically had to use the front door.

…but the real magic unfolded about a billion fold when all of the smiles start to appear:

{these pictures are blurry because when children are pulling you by the legs and arms to get your attention, mom! hurry! look at this! look here! momma! it’s a little challenging to be taking pictures at the same time and get them in focus. plus, lets be honest, christmas morning is usually a bit blurry to the memory.}

family christmas brunch:

we spent christmas afternoon/evening with friends at this charming new england home:

sela was so excited about christmas dinner, it was hard for her to sit down.

so, she stood next to her chair {eating. and dancing.} at times…

we returned home at the end of the day, and all i kept thinking was, today is absolutely my favorite day of the year. xo.

{photos by me, Jane Rhodes}