Christmas!!!

Christmas was so much fun.... and a little crazy too. Luke had his first of 3 melt-downs at 8:30 am. That's what we get for jumping right into the morning without eating some hearty breakfast. But how could we drag him away from all of the excitement? We took the day really slow and still had some unopened gifts after dinner under the tree. Thats the best way to do it for our kids. Not too much over-stimulation. Then we went to my Mom's. I wish I'd had my camera. When Luke saw that his cousins were there he ran to the door to greet them. The 3 boys walked back into the family room in a line, each with there eyes glued to the new handheld games they had gotten. It was actually nice. Everyone was opening gifts and chatting while the boys sat there on the couch playing their Leapster's in absolute silence. That was pretty much the rest of the day for Luke. He went from his Pirate Ship to his L-Max and then back again until bedtime. Ella played pretty evenly with all of her toys. In fact I couldn't probably tell you what her favorite one was. At least until the swingset was reveled. They didn't see it until 4 pm since they were so busy playing with their new toys but loved it. I knew they would. Ella did give a lot of love to her new talking, responsive baby doll from Santa. It was actually a bit creepy to us adults. And she was also in heaven with her new "Care Bears" Dave was stoked on his new, fancy cell phone and I was thrilled with my new Nikon Speedlight flash.

I can honestly say that the best part was being with my Husband and Children. Watching everyone's faces light-up and feeling the excitement in the air. I am so grateful for this time of year and love the Christ-like spirit that is so heavily in the air. People are so kind and thoughtful. Its a time of miracles and good-will. I am thankful for the birth of my Savior and the opportunity I have had to reflect on his birth, his perfect example and his atoning sacrifice for me. I always miss this time of year when it is over and get a bit sad on the 26th of December as it seems to come to a close. I wish it felt like Christmas every day and I hope that I can do my best to keep the spirit and focus of this time, always.