Christmas 2011

Decorating gingerbread houses is one of our favorite family nights in December.  One day we'll make our own houses instead of buying the premade kits.  Maybe.  Trent insists on handling the frosting.  Always.  I may have to buy extra kits when the kids are old enough to want to do it on their own - I think Trent's inner child comes out during some of our traditions and I love it!

  One for me, one for the house, one for me, one for the house...

This year my aunt Paula mailed us a book I spent all season trying to get my hands on.  It was probably my favorite gift this Christmas.  The book is I Believe in Santa Claus which teaches not only about the goodness of Santa, but more importanly how he is like the Savior.  I cherish this book and it is now part of our Christmas Eve tradition.

Late Christmas Eve, Santa realized we had a bit of a problem.  The remote control car he picked up for Ty months ago at Costco (one of Santa's favorite shopping locations) was defective.  Santa found a Walgreens and picked up a $7 junky remote control car just to get through Christmas morning, but that turned out to be defective too.  We were lucky Ty was very understanding that sometimes Santa's quality control team makes mistakes.  Santa only brings one gift to our children, and stuffs their stockings with needful things, so I was a little distraught that there was a cog in the wheel.  However, Ty was excited to go with dad the day after Christmas and pick out his own remote control car.  The way the story unfolded, Daddy ended up as the real hero.  As it should be. :)

Brooke was ever so pleased with her new high chair for Baby Charlotte, her gift from last Christmas.  She spent the morning feeding her baby food and scolding her for making messes.

                                                       Here was my Christmas gift.

We were lucky to have Grammy Blake stay with us for Christmas.  I'm not sure that she got any rest but the kids love when she stays with us.  Our guest bedroom has officially been dubbed "Grammy Blake's room" and whenever any one wants to watch a movie by themself or read in a cozy spot, they say "Mom, can I go in Grammy Blake's room?" 

When I was young I dreaded Christmas' that landed on a Sunday.  This Christmas I relished in enjoying the beautiful service and remembering my Savior before we got into a gift frenzy.  Fortunately, our tree is in the basement and the gifts were not even a temptation since we all sleep upstairs.  We went to sacrament meeting, enjoyed some lunch, and then opened our gifts.  It was nice to start the day with something meaningful and draw out the celebration instead of allowing chaos to take over the morning.  I think our family needs to start every Christmas morning with a little more purpose, even when Christmas doesn't fall on a Sunday.

I am prone to sentimentality regardless of our circumstances, but I did feel an extra amount of gratitude for my Savior this Christmas.  Trent switched jobs earlier in the year and between that and a new baby, we didn't have the option of over indulging in Christmas like we are easily tempted to do.  With the simplicity of our holiday came more clarity about the importance of meaningful traditions, quality time with family, and sharing our testimonies with our children.

Besides, who needs more stuff when you've got one of these.