Another Romer Christmas

I'm finally feeling 100% today, so I can finally share with y'all about our Christmas!

I woke up with a HORRIBLE stomach flu, so after Christmas morning, I was chained to my bed, bathroom, and a trashcan.
I am POSITIVE that it was viral gastroenteritis because EVERYONE seems to have the exact same thing, and now my poor husband has it (and is currently bedridden upstairs).
Prayers for my little family!

Christmas gets more fun for me every year as Dannika gets a little older, and can grasp little concepts a little better than the year before.

I love seeing the magic of Christmas through a 4 year old's eyes, and the excitement that it brings.

Christmas has become more about seeing the joy in my children than anything else (besides Jesus, of course!).

 In our home, we do Santa Claus.

Some of my Christian friends kind of gave me the "side eye" when I told them we do Santa.

To some Christians, the whole idea of Santa Claus is like lying to your kids, and it makes Jesus irrelevant.

The way I see it, Dannika also believes that if she has a magic amulet like Sophia the First, she can talk to animals.

She also believes that there are mermaids in the ocean (thanks to her favorite movie The Little Mermaid).

I feel like imagination and fantasy are what keeps my children innocent, and it's part of being a kid.

With that said, we make Christmas more about Jesus in our house than anything else.

Santa, the presents, and the traditions come second.

In fact, the night before Christmas, I was shocked and humbled when my daughter said,

"Mommy, we can give all my toys to the other boys and girls who don't get to have Christmas. I can't wait till Jesus' birthday tomorrow because I love him SO much! I can't wait to die so I can go meet him in Heaven!"

Are you shocked?

I was.

It amazes me how unafraid of death my 4 year old is because she knows she'll be in the Kingdom of God when her time is done on earth!

So on to our Christmas...

The night before, Nick and Dannika went outside and spread "Reindeer food" all over our front lawn for Santa's reindeer...

 We left milk, cookies, and a note for Santa on the table next to the fireplace...

In our house, Santa ALWAYS gets almond milk (we're looking out for his health), and he ALWAYS gets his milk in a motivated Marine Corps 1st Marine Division glass.

Dannika can actually write now, so she actually got to leave him a little note this year!

She's never been so excited to go to bed! I'm sure my child is not the only one on Christmas Eve.

Dannika has been asking for a Barbie Dreamhouse for as long as I can remember.

We didn't get her one before because we felt she was too young, and it would just end up being destroyed.

When went to go take photos with the mall Santa, Dannika told him that she wanted a Barbie Dreamhouse.

She wrote a letter to Santa asking for a Barbie Dreamhouse.

Everyone that asked her what she wanted for Christmas, she promptly responded with, "A Barbie Dreamhouse."

Needless to say, "Santa" brought her a Barbie Dreamhouse.

Imagine how heartbroken she would have been if she didn't get a Barbie Dreamhouse?!

She was ridiculously excited.

Mattis just kinda laid there all morning, oblivious to what was going on.

Along with her Barbie Dreamhouse came every single Barbie accessory and doll imaginable.

My house looked like Barbie threw up all over it when she was done opening everything.

 Nick started having an obsession with bow hunting after spending the Summer in Quantico with one of his best friends who happened to be an avid bow hunter.

When he returned back to Mass, two guys from our church (who are also avid bow hunters) got him even more hyped up about it.

He started obsessing over bows...just a little bit.

He spent hours on his phone googling bows.

So, he got a bow for Christmas from me!

He was one happy guy!

He actually knew he was getting one, because he got to pick it out, but I have as strict rule on receiving/opening gifts before Christmas, so he had to wait!

My hubby got me an awesome new Canon 60D DSLR, 3 lenses, 6 different lens filters, tripod, etc.

I've had my Canon Rebel for about 3 1/2 years now, and I have severely outgrown its' capabilities.

It was time for a new one.

I'm really excited to play around with it!

I'm still learning the ins and outs of it, and I had to break out my MomTog's "UnManual" again.

If you've got a DSLR, and are shooting on auto, you're really missing out on the capabilities of your camera!

I HIGHLY recommend her book to help you understand the ins and outs of your camera.

It's one of the easiest books out there to understand, and well worth the $95!

It's seriously easier than any photography class you'll take, and definitely easier than the manual that comes with your camera!!!!!!

I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas.

Keep posting about your Christmases on social media!!!

I LOVE seeing all the photos!