Christmas in pictures

The last few days have been very hectic, yet very, very special. Highlights include: Christmas Eve at Red Lobster, Christmas morning from Santa, going to see Annie on Christmas day (Thanks for the tickets, Santa), picking up LD from my sister's, going to the cabin, our friends joining us at the cabin for a night. It was an amazing few days! It was so good for our family. We love being together...and, two years in a row at the cabin....just might become a tradition! :)

Traditions

Today is Christmas Eve! :) As a family, we have many traditions that we have created together. I guess this is what makes a family. It is definitely what makes these holidays so special. I am so grateful that we have another Christmas Eve together as a family. What a great family I am blessed with! I am so excited for this evening...here are some of our traditions:

1. We go out to dinner (this year: Red Lobster!)
2. We go look at Christmas lights together.
3. We come home and read the Christmas story from Luke 2 while looking at the Nativity set with a candle.
4. We sing Christmas Hymns.
5. We sit in a circle and talk of why we love each member of our family.
6. We have family prayer.
7. We call Grandpa and he reads "Twas the Night Before Christmas."
8. We put up our stockings and put out cookies and milk for Santa.
9. The kids open one present each...as a preview! :)
10. (Then...we all go to bed...excited for more Christmas traditions to come tomorrow!)

This year we have added taking giftcards to the homeless and less fortunate...but I don't know when that will happen in the evening.

I love traditions. I love family. I love Christmas Eve. Most of all, though, I love my Savior, Jesus Christ.

Where to begin?

Again....it has been a long time since a post. -sigh- Maybe at some point I will get my life back together enough to be a faithful blogger. Since I haven't been, however, I have no idea where to begin. C's big belt test? The last day of school before Christmas break? K and DH's daddy-daughter date? An awesome Christmas present from a dear friend? I could go on and on. We are always busy, I just haven't been great at documenting it all!

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But, since this is the season of giving, I think I will begin with the most important gift of all...our Savior, Jesus Christ. Last night we had a wonderful Family Home Evening. We began with imagining that we were having a huge birthday party and all of our friends came carrying gifts, but at opening presents time, they all turned and gave them to each other and we didn't get any. We compared this a little to Christmas and how we celebrate Christ's birth, but sometimes we get too caught up in the gifts to each other, not to the Savior. We read Matthew 25: 35-40 and talked of how the gifts of service that we do to each other are gifts to the Savior. Then, we read 2 Nephi 2:6-8 (in the Book of Mormon) and talked of how we NEED the Savior to return back to Heavenly Father. There is no other way, but what He asks of us is a broken heart and a contrite spirit. These are other gifts we can give the Savior. Then, DH turned on some instrumental Christmas music and we wrote "Birthday Cards" to the Savior, including an individual "gift" that we were going to give Him this Christmas. We sealed the cards, tied them with ribbon and stuck them prominently on our tree. I hope that they remind us, as a family, what we need to remember this season: the greatest gift of all: Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

You know he's two when....

LD and I had quite a Friday last Friday. It all began right after I dropped the big kids off at school. I was doing dishes and he came running out to me...with no clothes! He had taken off his pajamas, socks, and diaper. He told me that he wanted to wear underwear. Well, now that he is two, it is time...but, I already decided I didn't want to deal with a newly potty-trained kid at the cabin, so, after Christmas is the plan.

Anyhow, you don't deny a kid that WANTS to wear underwear and go potty, do you? We were about to head out to work out and run errands, so I thought 5 minutes in underwear...I'll have him try to go potty, then get him dressed with a diaper and head out.

You can guess what happened! Less than five minutes later, he had peed and pooped. Lovely.

Next, on our errands trip, we were shopping. He first decided he wanted something that I had him put away. He laid down on the floor and took off his shoes and socks. So, I put them back on and put him up on the counter while I paid. So, he took off his shoes and chucked them across the room. Then, as we were leaving, he again laid down, took off his coat and his socks....all while I am trying to get out the door with my bags of purchases. It was not fun. -sigh- He really is two!

Ten Reasons Why Thanksgiving was Awesome!

Thanksgiving was so awesome this year. I LOVE my in-laws and they were in town with us! :) Here are ten reasons that this year ranks as probably the best ever!

1. LD had the cutest smile for Papi O....complete with a black bean beard and black bean hairgel!
2. It was just the seven of us for Thanksgiving: I was on my feet literally from 8 am to 5 pm cooking, but there was no stress of a time limit....just cooking. --sigh-- so low stress. :) Thanks to Mami R. for all her help!
3. C did an amazing karate demonstration for the family. His instructor was right...put on the pads and he turns into an animal.
4. We enjoyed the perfect weather the first few days with a gorgeous hike in the great outdoors.
5. We froze (my poor Southern body--you'd never know I grew up in Colorado--I freeze at 50 degrees) together with a front row seat at the parade of lights.
6. K was the beauty of the week with her gorgeous hair and awesome photo poses.
7. DH was off Wed-Sun! :) Hurray for family time.
8. Mami R. and Papi O. are so loving and sweet and great advise givers, as good parents should be! How blessed I feel to have them as my "parents!"
9. Papi O. cleaned and did projects around the house that I hadn't been able to get to! Thank-you, Papi!
10. I biffed it in the water gardens after church yesterday! It was hilarious...but I have a bruise 4" x 3" on my knee! Yuck. At least we will all remember it together. (Maybe not an "awesome" moment, but a memorable one, at least!)

• Bonus: The food was outstanding! We had such a great time eating together (but I gained like 5 pounds!)
• Bonus #2: LD missed his siblings so much that he asked for them all day long today. When we finally drove up to the school to pick them up, he shouted "Yay! Yay! Yay! K and C! Yay! Yay! Yay!"
• Bonus #3: After Thanksgiving sales were soooooooooo awesome and we got such great deals. Hurray! (Also low stress...we didn't have anything on our "list" that we couldn't live without so we were just enjoying the excitement....and we left at 6:15, not earlier!)

We definitely had a great time together. I am so blessed to have in-laws that I love so much. I cried and cried and cried as they left this morning. Back to one of my favorite quotes ..."The pain now is part of the happiness then." So true.

(Hopefully pictures are coming! They didn't work for me today.)