Our family celebrated Christmas in California with Grammy, Opa, Aunts and Uncles, and little cousin Anders this year. It was so much fun to see the children interact with one another! Chelsea, Alexa, and Barrett adore Anders, and Anders tolerates Alexa's intense hugging, haha!
Instead of describing every detail of Christmas day, I'm just going to share one of my favorite parts of the day and let the pictures (and video!) do the rest!
Spending time with my family and opening those long-awaited presents was, of course, wonderful, but I loved being able to attend church that morning, and the Christmas Spirit was manifested to me that morning in the form of the Redding family, the Byers family, and the Wegner family. My children are very spirited, curious, energetic, and mostly-well behaved. When Alexa began to wander, Cathy Wegner took her calling in Nursery to another level and fulfilled it during Sacrament meeting, too. When Barrett got a little wiggly on my lap and stood up to look over my shoulder, there was the Byers family to provide a little entertainment for the cute little guy! And when looking over my shoulder wasn't enough, the Redding family was there to let him play with their glasses, hair, and whatever else struck his fancy. I'm convinced that David Redding is a baby whisperer because Barrett is pretty "stranger-danger" aware, but David has a way with the little ones. It was amazing.
We've been packing our house the past couple of weeks in preparation for our move happening just two days from now and throughout this preparation period, the thing that I've known I'd miss the most was the ward family that I'm a part of. I walked into this ward with immediate acceptance and love. I've experienced dinners prepared by loving women who just want to serve others and sacrament meetings next to the Wright family every Sunday because Becky is one of the kindest, most forgiving, most loving woman I've ever known. I've been a part of service opportunities along-side some of the most talented people and have learned from some of the most spiritually strong youth I daresay the world has ever known. This ward family has treated me so well and I have no way of repaying their kindness.
I asked myself (and my mother) why these men and women would be so kind and do so much for me and my family, even when they don't know us well at all. I've concluded that it is because they are following the Savior, Jesus Christ. They have the pure love of Christ inside of them and something like that is not something that can be contained. It pours and overflows in their lives, and it shows.
I love you all so much! My family has truly benefited from your open arms and open hearts. Thank you, and the church is true!!!
The moment we arrived at my sister Becky's house, I was all smiles! I was definitely feeling all the Christmas-y family feels, yo.
Having a Gingerbread House making party can be a pretty daunting task, especially if you've got about 20 children running around, but there were a few things I noticed that made this family construction work/run smoothly!
Buy pre-made
I'm all for the home-made stuff, but when you're expecting a lot of people over at your house, you probably have a lot of other things on your mind. So taking something big off of your plate, like baking a bunch of gingerbread isn't a bad idea!
Ask for help
The sets we had provided some candy, but not nearly enough for our sweet tooths... I mean, teeths... teeth? Ask everyone to bring a bag or two of candy to contribute!
Be observant
Pay attention to the people around you. Does anyone need a little extra help?
Food
Soup is a great option for a large group of people and you can ask other people to bring things for the soup or another soup option as well!
Prepping your house + Toys/Games
Prep your house with areas for entertaining the kiddos who get bored of the house-building and also to get them out of the kitchen (maybe outside?) while the adults do some cleanup!
Use the buddy system!
When I wasn't making the gingerbread house (or taking pictures!) I was watching my kiddos and Andrew was stepping in to help and vice versa. I couldn't do these things and have nearly as much fun without my partner in crime, er, construction, in this case.
And don't forget the family picture!
The main thing to remember is to make sure you're as present as possible. Be prepared so that you can participate and make memories with your family/friends, too. I hope your Christmases were every bit as wonderful as you are! Thanks for reading today and I'll catch ya next time!!!
I know I haven't written much about Barrett this past year, which is such a shame because there are so many things I want to remember! For instance, even though it can hurt like the dickens sometimes, I don't ever want to forget the way he pinches my neck whenever I hold him!
And that smile that brings sunshine in my life no matter what the weather!
The way he goes straight for the outlet covers when I set him down. Yeah. He likes to pull them out and crawl everywhere with him. Smarty pants.
And speaking of crawling, the way he puts one hand on something (like books, but more recently presents) and slides it along the floor as he crawls.
How he has discovered that throwing toys is so much fun!
The way he laughs harder at Chelsea than just about anyone else.
The way he laughs when I tickle him under his chin. It's the sweetest sound my ears have ever heard!
And the way I'll be doing my own thing, then turn to look over at him and get the biggest grin ever in return, which is what spurred the impromptu Christmas tree shoot I did totally featuring him.
And that "ohhhh... I'm in trouble..." look! *insert laughing tears emoji here*
These nights when everyone else is asleep and it's just me and him are
priceless. Even though he (and I) should be in our beds catching some
Z's, I don't regret them.
I love you little Bear Bear! You're such a good little baby and I would never want to go back to life without you. It has only gotten better since you arrived.
The other night, I sang you to sleep with the song "Silent Night" and was struck by this phrase:
"Round yon virgin, Mother and Child. Holy Infant, so tender and mild."
For a moment, I thought I understood how Mary must have felt holding
the Savior in her arms, because, although we don't grow up perfect, we
come to this earth perfect. How grateful I am for our Savior, the Light
of the World.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
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I could go on for at least an hour on Christmas traditions and all the different ones that my family had and that I loved growing up, then maybe another hour on the traditions that I have in my own little family now. Traditions are a part of what make Christmas so special and fun for me because traditions typically involve people you've known and loved for many many years, and who have I known and loved for that long? My family, which is what Christmas is all about, right?
So! To spare you all an EXTREMELY long post, I'll just share my favorite part of Christmas, the stockings!
My mother makes everyone in the family their own, hand-crocheted stocking, and they are absolutely priceless to me.
On Christmas morning, no one is allowed out of bed until 7:00 AM. We'd all set our clocks fast because we were sneaky like that, then we'd race up the stairs to see what was in our stockings! We always had one gift (like a little toy or DVD), chocolate gold coins, Swedish Fish, an orange, and a candy cane or some other little treat.
When I married into Andrew's family, we added to the stocking haul! His family had the tradition of IBC Root Beer and Nutella. They had a few other things, but those were the two that I liked best!
Then, last year, Andrew and I decided to start our own Family Stocking Tradition. In addition to all those yummy treats and the chocolate golden coins, we also include one real Silver Coin.
Joining families and traditions is one of the funnest parts of being married! And then, as your family grows and you add children to the mix, Christmases somehow become even MORE fun than when you were a kid.
What is one of your favorite Christmas traditions? Comment below!
If you'd like to participate in the next Mommy Style Monday collaboration, click here.
Whatever your Christmas traditions, I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and that this season has been one where you can say you've felt your Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's love.
