Christmas Morning!

Santa came to town! He brought some fun things and Santa's Elfs are hoping that the things he brought will provide hours of entertainment for the coming year!





Santa doesn't wrap the presents in our house. Part of the tradition is setting out the blankets for Santa to cover the presents up. The elfs are worried that a certain very smart 4-year-old will recognize that mommy and daddy use the exact same wrapping paper as Santa does.

Gratitude Day 22 - Christmas!

I'm so thankful for Christmas! This year was an interesting and fun one. We had a blast with the Christmas anticipation. We went to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. Mikayla had breakfast with Santa, which she loved. We went to a few Christmas parties. We were busy, but enjoyed every minute of it. Gweny had influenza the week before Christmas and had consistent fevers of 103.3 to 103.6 all week. She didn't eat or drink for 4 days and ended up in the Insta-Care a couple of times. She started feeling better the day before Christmas Eve. We woke up on the 24th, excited to have everyone feeling better and ready to celebrate Christmas Eve. We didn't anticpate Mikayla waking up with a very high fever. She had influenza as well.

Side note: I know you are probably thinking, "Why doesn't she get her children flu shots?" Here's why. I called back at the beginning of October, the office didn't have any yet. They said that they would have some at the beginning of November. The girls got really sick at the beginning of November with what turned out to be some strange Virus that caused high fevers and a really bad rash. The doctor wouldn't give them flu shots until the fever was gone for at least 3 days. By the time they got over this sickness, it was time to go to Colorado for Thanksgiving and I didn't have time. Gweny gave my entire family some lovely stomach flu while we were there, with a fever, so when we got back the doctor still wouldn't give them flu shots. The point is...they haven't been well enough to get flu shots. They keep getting sick before they can have flu shots.

Anyway, Mikayla tried so hard to feel well on Christmas Eve. She half-heartedly decorated cookies for Santa. She slept through Daddy's reading of the Christmas story. She threw some carrots out in the yard for the reindeer and went to bed at 7:30. She barely woke up at 7 am on Christmas morning to open her presents. She played with some new toys for about 15 minutes and then went back to bed until 5:30 pm. She slept off her fever the day after Christmas and is finally staring to feel a little better. Poor girl. It was nice to just stay home and celebrate with our little family. We had some friends and parents come celebrate with us on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. We had a great Christmas this year. We feel very blessed.

Gratitude Day 21 - Low Gas Prices (for now, anyway)

I'm so glad that gas has been cheaper lately. I hope that they give us a break with that for at least a few months. I know it will go back up eventually, but its nice to be able to fill up the car for a reasonable amount.

Gratitude Day 20 - Hot Chocolate

I know that hot chocolate is one of life's trivial luxuries, but I REALLY enjoy it. This year, I introduced it to Mikayla and she told me yesterday, "I could be really happy if I could have hot chocolate every day!" Today while Gweny was sleeping, I made some candy cane hot chocolate and Mikayla and I enjoyed it together as we snuggled on the couch and sang "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."

Gratitude Day 19 - Food

I just love food. That's all I have to say about that!!

Gratitude Day 18 - Childhood

I'm thankful for childhood and for all the curiosity, innocence and truthfulness that comes from it. My children are constantly curious and in awe of the everyday things around them. Just yesterday, I noticed Mikayla and Gweny both looking out the front window. I walked past them a few times while doing my daily chores and heard a few giggles, a few whispers from Mikayla to Gweny and then finally a loud, "Mom, come look!" I walked over to the window where they were sitting and looked for what they were looking at. It wasn't difficult to find. Our entire street was covered in birds. There were birds covering all the trees and on every rooftop. They were everywhere on the sidewalk, in the street, on lawns. There were hundreds and hundreds of birds. It was amazing. The girls had been sitting there watching the birds while they flew here and there, pecked at the snow-covered ground, and chattered and chirped away to eachother. I sat and watched with them while they asked questions about where they had come from, what they were doing, why there were so many, etc. Then, a mini-van pulled around the corner and the birds all flew up in unison in an enormous black cloud that blocked the sun on our street for a few seconds. They didn't come back. But those few minutes reminded me of the importance of childhood. That time spent with my curious little children reminded me to take some time to ask questions while watching the birds.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!
The first picture was taken from our front door and the second picture was taken from our back deck. BEAUTIFUL!!!

Gratitude Day 17 - Christmas Time

I'm so thankful for this time of year. We were able to attend the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas Concert on Saturday night. It was so amazing. We got to see Brian Stokes Mitchell, who just happens to be Josh's favorite Broadway guy. We also saw Edward Herrmann, which was cool. The choir and orchestra were so awesome! I love Christmas and this whole time of year.

Jay and Leeann

Don't ask me. I don't know...