Chirstmas :)

 

This winter break has been fabulous already! I came home and i have enjoyed spending time with my family going to McKayla's basketball games, celebrating Stephen's birthday, playing games, hot tubing, playing basketball at the church, seeing friends, and having Shana come home. I was even fortunate to have Big 5 let me come back to work for a few weeks to earn some extra cash. But hanging with the siblings has been the best.

Christmas Shopping!!!

 

 

Traditional late night slurpee run!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had someone come and do a quick family shot for our New Year cards. Nothing fancy just something real quick. Mom won't let me share the winning picture but i thought i would share the awkward one. My family is the best and there is always an awkward one...

 

Steve chilling in the front by himself and dad being our "center piece" hahaha

 

 



 

Found this gem in our scrapbook!

 

 

Christmas Eve was a good day. We spent the day full of little projects! Us girls always wear our footies on Christmas Eve but this year Shana and me didn't have room to bring ours and McKayla's were too small so we decided to try something new. Shana had the idea to decorate our own cheesy Christmas shirts. We would wear them Christmas morning!

 

 

Decorating!

 

I am definitely not the artistic one in the family. I stick to hand and finger painting!

 

 

After decorating the shirts we decorated our graham cracker "gingerbread" houses! We teamed up: Shana and Steve together and McKayla and me. McKayla and me struggled you could say.. haha but we had fun! Shana and Steve did a football field and it was pretty cool, not gonna lie. But McKayla's and mine was original and we didn't use any non-edible products (shana and steve..)!

 



 

 

Our little stable with Jesus!

 



Every Christmas Eve we always do a sort of program. Mom and dad share stories and use kids will share what we want or do a musical number. This year was a little different. We didn't have any music but we watch some Christmas clips from lds.org. The spirit of Christmas was strong that night. It never fails to amaze me how the older i get the easier it is for me to feel the spirit.

 

 Afterwards we watched a movie/tv and we played some games. By myself every year i always read the birth of Christ in the Bible even after my dad does. I like that alone time to really read those scriptures and to picture what it must have been like.

 

My parents thought they were so clever and labeled all the gifts for Santa's reindeer's. That way so us kids didn't know which gift was who's so we wouldn't try to figure out what we got.

 

Later found out i was 'Dasher'!

 

 

 

 

 Everyone went to bed and McKayla and me stayed up pretty late working on Mom and Dad's present. Let me rephrase that, McKayla spent most of the time working on it. Us kids put a puzzle together title 'Hope on the Horizon' for them. I'm so glad i had McKayla to help. She is the puzzle master in the family and she pretty much did the whole thing! But it was a gift that we put a lot of thought into and i hope my parents saw how much work was put into it!

 

'Hope on the Horizon'

 

 

 

Seven in the morning came early for me and i really struggled to get up! I am getting old! I guess staying up super late to work on the puzzle had its toil on me! We had a lovely morning opening presents and spending time with one another. But after the presents were opened, you bet i went back to bed! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bruce loved his Christmas present!!

 

Later that morning my mom bought movie tickets to go see Les Miserables. It was really good. What me and my dad didn't realize was that the whole movie was a musical. I knew that it was one, but i didn't realize that every conversation was sung also. It was long but the music and the story was beautiful. We all found some pleasure watching Stephen squirm through the movie haha. What every 14 year old loves to watch ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Later that morning we had a Christmas miracle and it snowed! I haven't had a white Christmas in long time! It was beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 We spent the rest of the day playing games as a family and eating! That puzzle was also not done all the way so a lot of time was spent working on that also.

 

Overall, this Christmas was one of the best. It was really weird for me. I was very excited about the presents and opening them Christmas morning, but something felt different to me this year. I look at what i received and they don't matter to me a whole bunch. I honestly feel that this Christmas was so good because we were reunited as a family and we got to spend time with each other. The way us siblings show love isn't really verbal. We show it through fighting... teasing, wrestling. Sometimes i think my parents think we really are fighting and they hate it, but that's kinda how we are. We are sarcastic to one another and beat up on each other, but we four know its how we say i love you. It has been nice to bond with my siblings this last week!

 

I feel as the older i get the more Christmas means to me. Not the presents, but the being together and the spirit that is in our home. I also noticed that i cry a lot now haha. I am always just so touched by little things and feel the spirit so much more, and my tear ducts go hand in hand with it. This year my mom made each of us kids a big book of her history. Her stories and journal entries of growing up and what she went through and felt through her life so far. I finally finished reading it and you bet, i cried a lot. This gift meant a lot to me and i always look forward to what sentimental thing my mom will make for us the next Christmas!

 



 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!