Christmas Morning

Who was up first on Christmas morning?  Not the kids, not Brian, but me, and even I slept in longer than usual.  I got up at 6:50 because the plan was to open presents at 7:00.  You see, Christmas this year was on a Sunday which meant church at 9:00 am.  It’s strange but true that while the rest of the Christian world goes to church at Christmas time, some never stepping foot inside the rest of the year, some Latter day saints complain about going to church when Christmas is on a Sunday.  Some may complain because they figure since we go to church every week the rest of the year, it would be nice to have a break on Christmas.  But I think for most, the main problem is the logistics of it all.  It’s hard enough to get a family of say six or eight fed, showered, dressed and out the door for church by nine o’clock in the morning, but when you add Christmas morning pandemonium to the schedule, it becomes almost impossible.  I think many families opted to open presents after church to avoid the difficulties.  You can imagine how the kids felt about that!  Anyway, with no little kids to get ready, we figured we could start opening gifts at 7:00, finish by 8:00, and be to church by 9:00, and we did just that.  It’s weird, though, having to wake kids up on Christmas morning which is just what Brian and I had to do.  He woke up shortly after me, and so did Katrina, but we had to roust the rest out of bed.  That’s teenagers for you!  We had a family prayer and then gathered downstairs around the Christmas tree to open gifts.  Everyone seemed happy with what Santa brought them.  After the festivities, we were seated in Church before nine.  It was wonderful to sing and hear of Christ and to be reminded of the reason for Christmas.