Christmas 2009

Sweet Samantha

The kids were in charge of the decorating this year.

Kathleen's choir concert. This is the only good picture I got!

Opening PJ's on Christmas Eve.

Christmas Morning.

Grandpa and Sadie

Josh and his new ball and glove.

Joseph and Joshua trying on their new shirts from Grandma Sherril. We all got one!

Makala and Samantha

Kathleen and Samantha

Elizabeth and Makala

Joseph, Tony, Jaynie, Kathleen

Elizabeth, Rick, Christopher, Danny

Joshua

Josh and Joe

Christmas Dinner

We had a wonderful Christmas this year, starting with the girls' concerts and ending with a great dinner with our family.

Makala's band and choir concerts were outstanding and Kathleen's choir concert was fabulous. The only picture I got was of Kathleen during the first part of hers. I was able to go caroling with my cub scouts one night, and the kids and I delivered some goodies to friends one night, (while Daddy stayed home with baby Samantha.) Kathleen got to spend some time on Christmas Eve helping to serve lunch at a local soup kitchen, a wonderful experience for her. (And she even still managed to meet a boy. What am I going to do with her???? A nice LDS boy who was also there volunteering.)

We got a white Christmas this year when the snow started falling on Christmas Eve and left us with several inches. The kids were so excited. Tony convinced his parents that they should come over Christmas Eve and stay the night to avoid bad roads on Christmas Day, so they did, and my mom was still here. So we got to have a really nice Christmas Eve dinner and Family Home Evening, complete with singing Christmas carols around the piano. Then we opened the obligatory new pj's before going to bed. I couldn't have asked for better.

Christmas morning brought 4 kids creeping into our room at 5:30 in the morning, (yes, even Kathleen!) We made them wait until 6:00, but then got up and began our Christmas morning melee. They were all very excited and happy with their gifts. The boys were most excited to give Tony and I and his mom and dad their hand-made tie racks and shelves that they made in Cub Scouts. When Samantha woke up, she had plenty of help opening her presents and was pretty excited about the teether that vibrates when you bite on it.

Then, we moved on to our french toast and bacon breakfast, and a relaxing morning watching a movie, and napping before more family arrived for dinner. We had an early dinner, turkey and all the trimmings, with Tony's brother, Danny, and his son, Christopher, and Tony's daughter, Jaynie, and her husband and two children. Then everyone headed for home, and we had a peaceful evening. It was a wonderful Holiday.

I asked the kids to write down what Christmas means to them, and these are some of the answers that I got:

"Christmas is not about the gifts or presents or any of that kind of stuff. It is about sharing and celebrating Jesus' birth in Bethlehem. Family is the greatest gift of all." - Joseph
"On Christmas, that is when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and we can spend time with our friends and family. The candy cane represents the shepherds that saw Jesus. the gifts represent the gifts that the three kings brought Jesus." - Joshua
"At Christmas time, everyone's worried about money and gifts, they forget about what matters most: family. Christmas shouldn't be about gifts, but of Jesus' birth. Christmas time is a time when we are with family and friends, a time of sharing and most of all, giving. I love my family and this holiday season." - Makala.

We are so very thankful for all of our friends and family. We are so blessed to have the Gospel in our lives, and the blessing of our Savior's birth and life. We wish all of you every happiness and blessing in the coming year.