Christmas 2016

We had a great Christmas this year!  I really enjoyed having Christmas on a Sunday.  It felt more Christ centered and He is the reason we celebrate Christmas.  The kids didn't like having to go to church on Christmas, but they didn't get any movies or outdoor presents this year so it wasn't as if they missed out on trying out some of the their Christmas presents that day.  

On Christmas Eve we had our usual evening program.  We watched Mormon Messages while we ate dinner.  After that we read the Christmas story out of the bible while we acted it out.  For the 4th year in a row, Rebecah was Mary.  She will be so disappointed when Annika expresses a desire to be Mary.  Joseph is the one who really scores big though.  I think he played 4 different roles this year...donkey, angel, shepherd and Wise Man.  Lincoln and Annika were a lion and giraffe because they didn't want to be sheep.  After our Nativity we ate treats while we watched It's a Wonderful Life.  That really IS a great movie.  I love the feeling I have when I watch it.  

Christmas morning!!  We went down stairs about 7:00 after Joseph and I were ready for church.  We always try to be ready for the day before the kids get up so we don't have to make them wait too long.

Lincoln and Annika were both very excited about their present from Santa and the one that their twin got too.  There have been many fights and power struggles over the Marble run and stroller!

I think Rebecah looks so pretty in the above pictures!  She made the above ornament at school and was very proud of it.

Joseph ordered this cute pillow for me and I love it.  Now the challenge is to keep it nice.  Eden sure is a happy girl.  She didn't have a care in the world on Christmas.

I gave Joseph this cute little Mexican Nutcracker that he wanted.   We both love it!

Lincoln got this monster school bus and he LOVES it.  It's so fun to see the excitement of the kids when they get something they really want.

I wanted a colorful Christmas dinner so I planned one.  I get really tired of all of the carbs for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  The kale and squash were fantastic additions to our dinner.  Joseph said he thinks we should have kale every year for Christmas dinner.  Good thing we all love it!

Christmas Happenings

The Christmas season seemed to fly by this year.  Every time we add a child to our family time seems to go faster.  We are now moving along at break-neck speed.
This December Kimball was able to participate in the Student Council Salvation Army bell ringing at Walmart.  He really wanted to wear shorts, but it was a bit cold, 30 degrees, so we insisted that he wear pants.  We explained that standing outside Walmart ringing a bell was very different than running around outside playing football.  I think he was glad he wore pants.

Our church congregation had a Christmas party and our kids participated in the annual Nativity and Elf songs.  Lincoln and Annika were elves.  They were NOT happy about wearing elf hats.  It took a lot of coaxing to get Annika to wear a hat, but she finally did.  Lincoln never did.  When the little elves went up to sing their songs he wouldn't sit there even with Joseph holding him.  Lincoln just ran off the stage to find me!

Elf Annika

Kimball and Rebecah were in the Nativity.  Kimball played the part of a Wise Man and Rebecah was an angel in the Heavenly Host.

We also participated in the #lighttheworld Christmas service initiative.  It was fun seeing all of the ways we serve on a daily basis without thinking about it and how others serve us.  It really is the little acts of kindness that can bring a smile to our faces.

One of my favorite things we started this year was singing Christmas songs on the way to church.  It brought the spirit into our hearts as we sang and singing helped to keep the fighting at bay.

The Gift of the Magi

I introduced the big kids to The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry this year.  While I read it to them I realized that the language was pretty hard for them to understand.  Joseph kept stopping me so he could explain what was happening.  I love this story though and I think it will become a yearly tradition to read it as a family.  I have always liked this story as I contemplate the sacrifice the young married couple made for each other out of love.

I came to fully appreciate the sacrifice Della and Jim made for each other when Joseph and I were newly married.  We didn't have much money when we were first married.  We lived on Joseph's student loans and what I could make as a substitute teacher.  Our first Christmas we didn't buy presents for each other.  We went to St. Louis for Christmas and in the excitement of the morning no one noticed that we didn't give each other gifts.

Growing up my family didn't have a lot of money so I learned from a fairly young age to have a modest wish list.  To this day I can think of expensive things I would like--new carpet in my house-- but never put them on my list because I just can't justify the expense.  Now that Joseph and I are better off financially I still have a modest list.  Joseph sometimes gets frustrated with me when I have a short list.  I just tell him that I'm content with what I have and I don't need a lot of expensive things.  I would rather choose to spend our surplus money on those around me that might need it more.  Every so often we have been able to give to someone else and I am happy knowing that I made someone else happy. Those are the gifts that matter to me.

It truly IS better to give than to receive.  I hope I can teach that lesson to our kids as they grow up.

Eden--Two Months Old

Eden is now two months old.  The time seems to be going quickly.  She has finally "woken up" where she doesn't sleep most of the day and all night.  She usually sleeps all morning and then cat naps the rest of the day.  She is still a happy and content baby.  She has discovered toys and she likes to watch the toys swing on the toy bars above the play mat and bouncer.  She loves tummy time and usually falls asleep.  She started smiling this week and cooing.  It's sweet to hear her little voice.  She just gets up once at night, usually between 4 -5 am; that's definitely doable.  She lost almost all of the hair on the top of her head, but I'm relieved that new hair is already growing in.  At her well child visit this week she weighed 10 lbs and she was 22 1/2 inches long.  Here are a few pictures from the past month.

 






Annika thought it was great fun to lay with Eden in Lincoln's bed.