Early Christmas Eve

Update:

• My computers are both fixed! Thank-you, P!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• I spoke in church on Sunday. I don't mind speaking in church. I am always amazed at how Heavenly Father takes my few hours of preparation and multiplies it, and how when I try to put things together MY way, it doesn't work, but when I do it His...it just flows. I am so grateful.
• I woke up Saturday morning without a voice (Yep, I spoke and sang in church on Sunday without much of a voice!)
• It has gradually become me feeling sick. Yuck!
• I am surprising CK with something when we meet today. I am soooooooooooo excited. I think that is why I woke up and could not go back to sleep.
• It was 81 degrees yesterday. Perfect! I am headed to Idaho today....high=36 degrees. YIKES!

Now, for the early Christmas. My kids are gone. DH picked them up last night and they are probably close to the airport right now. I am so glad that they are going to be with my in-laws. They are all amazing people. I love them all-every one of them. :) It has been a couple of rough weeks as they anticipated separating from me for Christmas. DH really came through this weekend, however. He allowed them to spend extra time with me. This gave them some greater respect for him and they were more ready to go. It makes me soooooooooooooooooooo much happier when they are okay.

Last night, then was a little like Christmas Eve for us, so we treated it like that.

First, we went out to dinner (a family tradition for Christmas Eve) to Logan's Steakhouse. It was so fun. We laughed and laughed. J loved throwing the peanuts on the floor. K and C decided to pretend they were doing a challenge in Amazing Race and try to have all the peanuts in the container gone before our food got there. They almost made it and we did finish the entire can before we left! :)

Next, we came home, read scriptures, and had a very special family prayer-a family prayer to celebrate Christmas and it's true meaning, a family prayer to protect us while we are not together, and a family prayer filled with love and unity.

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Then.....the kids got to choose one present (another family tradition for Christmas Eve) and open it.

They each choose a present that they loved, loved, loved. It was so fun to have them all playing with them. C got a glow-in-the-dark basketball from K. K got a pillow pet from C. J got some guns and other cowboy stuff from Grandma and Grandpa L. They were so excited and had so much fun playing together outside. Yep....first day of winter: 81 degrees. PERFECT!

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Here is J all dressed up like a cowboy (wearing his new stuff and stuff from a cowboy party he went to last week):

And....me.....sick. It has been difficult to get everything done to get ready for Christmas, the kids packed and ready to leave, the house ready, and me ready to travel. So....I haven't. I have been trying to only do essentials and rest otherwise. We had been playing a family game of Dutch Blitz when it hit me that I had to go lay down. The kids' dad then came to get them. There were lots of hugs, tears, and "I love you"s. But, we are okay. I am so glad. I will miss them. They will miss me. This isn't how it was supposed to be, but....we are at peace. :)

So, Merry Christmas to everyone!

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I leave you with a quote from President Hinckley, "He is my God and my King. From everlasting to everlasting, He will reign and rule as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. To His dominion there will be no end. To His glory there will be no night. None other can take His place. None other ever will. Unblemished and without fault of any kind, He is the Lamb of God, to whom I bow and through whom I approach my Father in Heaven."

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I, too, know that Jesus Christ lives. He lives! He chose to come to deliver us from physical and spiritual death! He lives. He knows us. He loves us. He knows how to succor us no matter the pain: physical pain, pain of sin, or pain of the heart. And, this is why we sing with the angels: "Hallelujah! A King is born!"