With a house full of six young children, Christmas morning came bright and early. The first stirrings were heard from the girls room at six and it wasn't long before children were racing down the hall and bouncing on our bed, begging us to wake up. As always, the kids could hardly wait for us to check that no elves that had been left behind. As soon as the "coast was clear", the kids ran, youngest to oldest, down to the family room to see what Santa had brought from the North Pole this year!
Sophia shrieked in delight at the sight of her (almost) life sized horse. (This was the same horse that she spotted in Costco weeks before. She howled down the aisles at my refusal to load it into our cart, causing quite a stir!) 
Jonathan was so excited about his nerf guns. Finally he could join the ranks of his fellow fourth graders, now that the weapons ban had been lifted at our house!
Emilie has fashionably settled into the phase of life when nothing beats a new outfit, accessories included, and Annelise was surprised by an American Girl desk set. (This item was "out of stock" across the country for weeks. I stopped into the store in the off chance that there would be an extra box hidden away. Sure enough, the associate found one last desk tucked in a back cupboard. I left the store a success story.) Ezra immediately hopped on his new Spiderman bike and did laps around the couch, helmet strapped on tight for protection and Mia will thank us later for her new Britax car seat which will help her survive her childhood. 
In our family, the stockings that await the children are always greatly anticipated, full of small trinkets on which we usually don't splurge.
Annelise made homemade gifts for each sibling, including pillows and a cute felt bag for Ezra to keep his beloved matchbox cars close at hand. Jonathan and Emilie resorted to Ebay for their shopping. Jonathan's Colts jersey gift for Ezra a highlight of the exchange.
Despite protest, we snapped our annual Christmas morning photos and then spent the rest of the day enjoying our waffle breakfast, calling home to our families and playing with new toys.
We appreciated the love that our families showed us in sending gifts and cards and talking to each one of us over the phone! Each December the kids get so excited as the brown boxes begin to arrive. This year they contained such treasures as Batman rain boots, an American Girl picnic set, kazoos and glittery lip glosses. The day was not over before the kids began their countdown for Christmas morning 2011. . . only 364 days Jonathan pointed out.
