Christmas!

Christmas was wonderful this year! It just keeps getting more and more fun as the kids get older and more excited about it. This was our second Christmas at home and it was so fun to continue traditions we have started. Jeremy and I both felt so grateful and full of love for our little family.

I pretty much spent all day in the kitchen on Christmas Eve, but that was fine with me! George gets the award for entertaining the kids all day so the rest of us could work on the feast. It was a gift for me since I love to cook!

I tried a new recipe this year for dessert - glazed cranberry lemon cake. It was yummy! Unfortunately even though I checked it earlier than the recipe suggested, it was a little overcooked. It sure looked beautiful though! And shame on me for not getting a picture of Jeremy's masterpiece. The boys really wanted a pumpkin pie so Jeremy said he'd make it with them and it was SO so good. He totally nailed it, but I failed to take a picture! Sorry babe.

 But he sure is handsome in front of the Christmas tree.

 The feast! We had two different kinds of potatoes so everyone could have their favorite (it was Christmas after all), ham, broccoli salad, brussels sprouts, rolls, and sparkling cider. It was delicious!

 Anna's favorite was the raspberry jam on her roll.

 After dinner, Jeremy read from the New Testament and we acted out the nativity. Jeremy's mom made some beautiful costumes a few years ago, so we asked her to bring a few for the kids and then she gave them to us as part of our Christmas present! That was very nice.

 I sure love these kids!

 Anna was Mary, Connor was Joseph, George was the donkey and a wiseman, Eli was a shepherd and a wiseman, Debbie was a wiseman, and I was the angel.

 Connor was a very reverent and gentle Joseph.

 Anna was so tender and sweet. I love seeing my children feel the Spirit even at such a young age. It was a really special evening.

 The wiseman bringing gifts. Pretty sure that's a napkin on George's head.

 Connor showing Jesus a gift.

 After the nativity, we had dessert and let everyone open one present - some Christmas PJs. Then it was off to bed! I love a simple Christmas. The kids were in bed by 7:30 and we were in bed by 10:30!

Christmas morning I came down to turn on the lights and snap some pictures. Eli didn't even wake up until 7:15 so we got started at a very reasonable hour.

 Anna with one of her new dollies. She got lots of girl toys (her first) this year!

 Happy (and sleepy) lego man!

 Connor for some reason loves Batman, so he was really excited to get a shirt (with a cape you can't see) and a mask. He also got a little Spiderman costume. He has worn nothing but one of those two things since! (Except for church today finally).

 Presents everywhere!

 Little Missie with her dollies and her new camping chair. She was pretty happy!

 Someone from church was giving away that kitchen (on the left) for free, so we threw that in as part of Christmas too!

 Delicious Christmas breakfast - ham/egg/hash brown casserole, hot wassail, and orange sweet rolls. Divine!

 Cutie pie!

 Jeremy's parents flew out at 1:30 that afternoon. It was sad they had to leave on Christmas day, but it actually worked out pretty great. They got to be here for a little over a week and we had a plenty of time Christmas morning without feeling rushed and then they got to see some of their other grandkids Christmas evening back in California.

Jeremy's mom made those PJ pants Connor is wearing below. Also, George cut up and sanded a bunch of little pieces of wood for the boys and gave them each their own hammer, so they had a good time going down to the basement and creating some things that afternoon.

 Eli worked on a fire-station/garage for his new lego firetruck.

 Thank you Papa!

We felt very blessed as we do every year for not only the thoughtful and generous gifts we received, but for the love we feel for our family, our friends, and most of all, our Savior. Christmas is such a special time and I'm so grateful we can teach our kids the most important parts of the Christmas season.