Grandpa stole Benjamin's sword for about a minute before Benjamin wanted it back.
Michael taking pictures as usual.
Michael likes his BYU jacket that I got for free from a promotion back in September.
Sword fighting with sister. 
Bekah was afraid of brother's tiger rug at first, but after a little more exposure she decided it wasn't so scary after all.
Gary was surprised by what Santa brought him.
Waiting for Aunt Mary to go downstairs.
Playing with the play dough from the activity kit Mary and Gary gave them. They love it and I love that they can use it in the kitchen and not on the carpet. 
Bekah was so excited to get clothes for a Christmas that she had to go get dressed right away. Needless to say, she was the first one dressed that morning.
We had a wonderful Christmas! My parents, sisters, and Mary's fiance, Gary, all came to our house for the holiday. It was great to have everyone here. We played in the snow, took engagement pictures, went fabric shopping for wedding stuff, ate a lot of yummy food, and spent time visiting with one another.
On Christmas Eve, we shared our favorite scriptures about Christ and his birth. My favorite scripture is John 3:16 which reads "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" because it talks about the greatest gift that we have all received. Christmas is a time of gift giving, but the most important part is to take time to remember our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the gifts that he gave to each of us by setting an example, teaching, and giving His life for us. To me, that is the true spirit and meaning of Christmas.
After we shared a spiritual message we opened our one Christmas Eve present and sent the kids to bed. Then, Mom and Dad played Santa and went to bed so that Grandma could finish playing Santa.
I woke up bright and early on Christmas morning and laid in bed reading until the children woke up around 7 a.m. I found this surprising because Benjamin woke up at 6 a.m. on Christmas Eve because he was so excited to have people at his house for Christmas. Once everyone was awake, we went to the family room to see what "Santa" had brought us and then took turns opening presents so we had a chance to see what everyone else received. I love the Christmas tradition of taking turns to open presents because then we can all share in the joy and excitement of each other as we see what was given to everyone else. This makes the holiday more meaningful for me because we share one another's joy instead of having a opening contest to see who can open their presents the fastest and ignoring the giving part of the season. We then had some friends over for our Christmas breakfast and spent the rest of the day enjoying spending time together and our gifts. Michael and I decided that we did not like the idea of having two big turkey dinners within one month of each other so we incorporated to tradition of Christmas breakfast where we have a big, yummy breakfast after we open presents and then we have the rest of the day to enjoy. We were planning on having cinnamon rolls with our eggs and bacon, but we ended up having pie instead (another good tradition, pie for breakfast). Yum!
Christmas was wonderful! And, I look forward to having it again next year, and for many years to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment