Christmas!

Here goes my last post for 2012. Christmas was awesome this year. I love everything about Christmas, and it's the only time of year I truly love to shop. It was so fun to have Leah home for Christmas this year. Last year we hung her stocking and opened presents for her but it was hard to think of her so far away in a cold orphanage without her family. This year was different, and I think she had a great first Christmas. It was fun to shop for a girl for a change and have some pink on Christmas morning (I'm warming up to pink a little; in limited quantities)!

My parents came over on Christmas Eve, and we had a fun party.  The kids put on a program that included (and this time we did actually video) piano and a poem by Luke, reading the nativity story from the Bible while Ian ad libbed with some pictures, Seth singing Little Elf and a few of his other schools songs, and Leah just being in the mix.   We of course ate a ton and played games.

  

The kids opened their Christmas pjs and posed for the mandatory pictures.  They all loved their slippers.

We told the boys 7 a.m. would be good for Christmas morning.  They were up way before that but tore upstairs on the dot of 7.  Ian and Leah were still out.  We woke Ian up but let Leah sleep in a little.

Ian got lots of dinosaurs and a razor scooter.  He pretends it has a button on it to go fast!

Ninjago legos are a big thing around here.  Luke and Seth both got big sets, electric scooters, and jerseys as their main gifts.  They also got Nerf type bow and arrows which have been a huge hit.  On Christmas Eve morning Luke wrote a letter to Santa asking for a Peyton Manning jersey and football gloves.  Santa managed to come through with the football gloves, but I assured him Santa's sleigh was already locked and loaded with the jersey he had previously chosen!  He loves it though.

 Leah got a little kitchen that is so cute and all the food and dishes to go with it.  I got Ian a little chef outfit because I figure he'll play with it too and let's face it—it's really pink.  I thought it might send Jer over the edge if Ian was fighting Leah for the pink oven mitt!  So far he hasn't given it a second look since Christmas morning.

    
I just had to throw this in because Leah's doing her "China squat."  I've never seen a kid that can squat like she can.  We did on the other hand see lots of Chinese women doing this when we were there—maybe it's in the genes.  She can deep squat up and down all day.  I love this record player.  I had one just like it when I was a kid and Fisher Price brought it back this year.

After a huge breakfast complete with "fizzy juice" we spent the rest of the day with Jer's family.  The boys all sported their jerseys and we ate, played, and of course got more gifts.  Luke and K'Lee each got a real bow, and they were both so excited about it.

Cid made each family a book of pictures from Disneyland.

It's always bittersweet when Christmas is over.  Even though it's busy I love this time of year when you get together with family, friends, and neighbors that you don't see as much as you probably should.  I love Christmas lights and decorations, listening to Christmas music, and getting Christmas cards.  The kids had a great experience this year helping us with Secret Santa.  Luke even has wounds to show for it. When they were running away from the door in the dark he ate it and went down hard on the sidewalk which I'm sure he'll never forget.  It's always sad packing stuff away but I'm sure next year will be here before I know it.  Jer completely surprised me and took me to Provo during December to a Mindy Gledhill concert.  I had no idea where we were going, and it was so awesome.  She sang her regular songs plus Christmas music.  Her song "All About Your Heart" has become "Leah's song" in our family, and I'll admit it gave me a little tear in my eye to hear her sing it live.  She also sang "Hourglass" which is a song about her own kids and how life is like an hourglass with time passing so quickly.  I know I don't always feel that way, but it's so true.  I am so grateful for my kids ages 8, 5, 3, and 2 and all the love they give me.  2012 was beyond amazing for us with a trip to China and Leah's addition to our family.  I am so grateful for my family, the gospel, the blessings of the temple, and of course the Savior's love at this time of year.  We are truly blessed.  2012—that's a wrap!