We Love Christmas!

When we looked into testing Jade for the ALPS program at school, one of the major turn-offs for me was that she'd be stuck on B track, which would have her off for three weeks right before Christmas. I thought it would be so much harder to get all my Chistmas preparations done with her home. When I talked to my sister Diane about it, she said there is always so much to do in December, she wishes her kids were home the whole month. In fact, that turned out to be true. With me teaching piano lessons on weekday afternoons, I wouldn't have had the time to involve her in so much of the holiday fun. She came with me on numerous shopping trips, we took a tour of the Sweets candy factory with Logan's preschool class and of the LDS Humanitarian Center when we dropped off some blankets. She came with me to Logan's ice cream party at preschool. We also had several holiday parties and it was nice not to have to worry about homework that needed to be done and getting up early for school.

The time went by extremely quickly, but I can defintely say that we used it well. We watched holiday movies, read holiday books, sang holiday songs, ate holiday-themed foods, and colored in holiday coloring books. I love to keep those things packed away with my Christmas decorations so that they're new again every year when we get them out.

Thanks to two very excited children, Christmas Eve was a little crazy at our house. We had a nice dinner and made an attempt at acting out the Christmas story. It ended up being a lot more complicated than I'd imagined it. Logan got his mind set on carrying the baby Jesus under his shirt like Jade. When we told him only Mary had a baby in her belly, he refused to play a part at all. He decided to sit on the stairs and yell instead. I managed to convince him to put the towel back on his head for a picture so we can look back and forget what it was really like. They wore themselves out good though, because they went right to sleep and we didn't hear from them all night.

Logan woke up before dawn. He crawled into bed with us for a little while, but by 7am he was ready to be up. He left the room telling me he was going into his room, but came back a couple of minutes later and said, "Mom, there's something cool in the living room." "Did Santa Claus come?" I asked. "Just come and see" he said. He wouldn't let it go. I had to get up, and I didn't want to go out without Jade, so we woke her up too. I think this was the earliest Christmas morning we've had so far.

There wasn't a gift they weren't thrilled with. The world sure looked beautiful draped in a layer of new snow, but it does mean they haven't been able to try out their new bikes yet.

Quiz

I have posted the answers to the Christmas song quiz enclosed with our holiday greeting on the right side of this page. How did you do?

Frozen Solid... Christmas Memories #6

As kids we were always thrilled to hear my mom tell stories about the frigid temperatures in Canada in the wintertime, though we figured they were somewhat exaggerated so as to make us more grateful for our warmer climate. We visited the great land in the north nearly every summer to see my mom's family, but didn't travel there in the winter until I was sixteen. It was the only Christmas we spent away from home. For the most part it was much like the other trips to Canada, but the thing that has stuck in my memory after all these years is the freezing cold.
When I tried to use my camera outside the film wouldn't wind.
We had to trap a heat lamp under the hood of the car so the engine would start in the morning.
When my sister and I walked down Main street we had to step into every shop to thaw.
Whenever I'm feeling cold outside I remember that real cold means the snot in your nose freezes every time you breathe.

Party Clothes

We went to Nate's Holiday Party at the Marriot Hotel on Friday night. The food was great and it was fun meeting all the people he talks about so much. We left all three kids with Grandma and Grandpa for the night.

A Big Announcement... Christmas Memories #5

I love surprises, both as the recipient and as the presenter. When I discovered I was pregnant last fall I was thrilled with the timing. I knew my belly would hardly be showing by Christmas, so I could wait until the big day to share the news with our family. I had Jade draw a picture of our family at Christmas 2007, with Dad, Mom, Jade, Logan, and Baby. Jade, being the obedient child that she is, drew what I told her. It wasn't until she had finished the second copy of the picture that she asked, "Why did you want me to draw a baby? We don't have a baby." "Well, maybe by next Christmas we will." She looked at me and shrugged, "Oh, okay." and that was that. Then we sealed it in an envelope and gave it along with the gifts we exchanged. The reaction was priceless. My mom opened the letter, looked at the picture and laughed, "Are you making an announcement?" When I said yes, she about fell out of her chair. The reaction with Nate's family was equally fun. Jade had nearly run out of space on the picture when she got to the baby, so the word was a little hard to read. Nate's dad looked at it and asked, "Who's Bobby?" Jade, looking offended, said, "No! It says BABY!" I believe Nate's brother who was on a mission at the time was even on the phone when they found out. It was all so much more exciting than the ordinary telephone call announcement we had made the other two times. It certainly made for a Christmas I will never forget.

Perfume... Christmas Memories #4

It was Christmas Eve day. My dad asked if I'd be willing to wrap something he'd bought for my mom. This was an unusual request because my mom and dad didn't exchange gifts with each other, minus the occasional box of cherry chocolates which were my dad's favorite. The gifts were always just for us kids. Curious, I agreed. He handed me a bottle of expensive perfume. He told me he'd spent time choosing the perfect scent, sniffing coffee beans in between each to ensure a fresh nose each time. I loved that my parents were still romantic with one another even after 20 something years.

Sock Ears... Christmas Memories #3

What better way to bring in the true spirit of Christmas than with a live nativity? While we were young we acted out the Christmas story as a family. My brother was Joseph, adorned in plaid bath robe and towel on his head. The rest of us girls took turns playing the roles of Mary, the angel, Wise Men, and Shepherds. That left my dad to play... the donkey? That's right. The donkey played a very important role in the Christmas story. How else would Mary have gotten all the way to Bethlehem? Well we didn't have a costume for him, so putting his engineering mind to work, he put a pair of dress socks over his ears and voila, a donkey. It was so fun to see my very serious dad down on his hands and knees with socks on his ears. Why in all my pages of childhood photos do I NOT have a picture of this?

Christmas Memory #2

Have you ever tried a Flexible Flyer sled? Of all the sleds we had as kids, they were the fastest ones my parents owned, and you can actually control where you're going. The problem was, unless the trail was super-packed, they hardly worked at all. Unfortunately, this meant we didn't get to use them very often. Well, one Christmas Eve there was a ton of snow, so much that the snow plows hadn't been out to clear the road my parents live on. It was about 11pm. I have no idea who suggested we get out the Flexible Flyers, but we did and we spent forever sledding out on the road. The best part of this story is that we were all adults. I wonder if any of the neighbors were watching.

Christmas Memories

I love Christmas... the city decked out in lights and wreaths, the radio stations playing songs about Jesus, finding that perfect gift. To help us all get into the spirit of the season and so I don't have to figure out what to write about, I'm going to spent the next couple of weeks sharing some of my favorite Christmas memories. (Thanks for the great idea Michelle!)

One of my favorite Christmas Eve activities was when my mom used up all her extra scraps of wrapping paper on a gift for our whole family. We all took turns tearing off one layer of paper until the gift was revealed. I don't remember what was inside the box in the end. The fun was in the process of unwrapping.

Go Jazz

Nate went with some friends to the Jazz vs. Lakers game last night. Since he doesn't have many opportunities to support the home team in person, he went all out. After the game... Jazz 120, Lakers 96, his friends felt the need to join the social scene and drug Nate along. As luck would have it, Jazz players Ronnie Brewer and Paul Millsap came to the same place. They complimented Nate on his choice of attire, but were not so amused by his friends' Laker garb. Apparently, Millsap's body guard even felt the need to step in as an altercation ensued between them.

The Elves

Follow the link below to see us dressed up as elves (and to try it yourself!).

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1130674789

P.S. If the link doesn't take you there, just copy it and paste it in your address bar.