Merry Christmas!!

What a wonderful Christmas! Tis the Season to be Jolly!! It was truly a joyous celebration! I think Christmas Eve was my favorite! I've noticed many of our Christmas traditions come from either my childhood or Nate's childhood! And sometimes we begin our own! Here is one tradition from both our families: Acting out the Nativity! I wrote a script and had narrators read from Luke 2. The kids love dressing up and being the characters!

Ty was Angel Gabriel...although he was convinced angels were only for girls I reminded him that Angel Gabriel was actually a boy!!

Mara as Mary, of course!

And Joseph was played by Caleb!

Angel Gabriel coming to visit Mary then Joseph.

And then Ty was the donkey!! He some how stole this part from Nate who is always the donkey! But I guess if he had to be the angel he could be the donkey if he wanted!

Here is Mary riding the donkey to Bethlehem!

Then we had a quick costume change and Mara, Ty, & Caleb were shepherds and baby Brooklyn was the angel--she really is an angel baby!!

Three awesome wise men! They look terrific!

What a handsome wiseman!

We sang Christmas songs in between the verses and bore our testimonies of the birth of Jesus Christ. The spirit was so strong in our home! It was amazing! I was so grateful that we could focus on Jesus and remember Him and ponder the true meaning of Christmas. We ended our lesson with this clip from lds.org


A great reminder for us to all seek Jesus and serve others.

"Happy Birthday to Jesus..." We sang Happy Birthday and blew out candles on the birthday cake/pie!

Then it was off to bed so Santa could come! Merry Christmas my little sweet darlings!

Good Morning and Merry Christmas!! The boys snuggling Brooky with Christmas loves!

Papa--or "my puppy" and "Tooky" as Caleb refers to them!!

Caleb found a surprise in his stocking: a Darth Vader candy dispenser! He was so excited!!

Me and my sweet little Christmas Elf!

Thank you Mimi & Papa for the new dress! Perfect for our little princess!

Merry Christmas Nate! Thanks for a great day!!

Sweet little Brooky carefully opening her present!

Having our family down with us for Christmas was so special!

Yay! More tinker-toys!! Now let's build!

Brooky was fascinated with the wrapping paper! She didn't really care for what was inside! She just liked opening the gift!

Wahoo!! Ty's very own Light Saber! Thank you Mimi & Papa! How did you know?! He was thrilled!

Mara loved helping Brook open her gifts! I can't wait to see a picture of her in her new shirt that says, "I love my Aunt!" I loved hearing Brook say "Eeeeee!" So cute!

Caleb opening his new remote control police car from Ty. I love that my kids are so happy with what they get! They are not into the top and newest and latest and greatest techno-gifts! It is wonderful! I know it won't last!!

What a mess we made! It was a lot of fun and seeing those sweet faces of joy and surprise from my kids Christmas morning makes me want to do it all again!

Oh my little Shmooky-Cookie-Tookie-Brooky! I am so glad that Scott and Lorisa and Brook could come visit for Christmas! I just loved snuggling, hugging, kissing, and playing with my little niece! She is so darling! I miss her already and I'm so sad that they live so far away and I can't see her very often! Thank you Scott and Lorisa for coming and being with us for Christmas! Thank you for all your help with meals, and the kids, and hanging doors! We hope you enjoyed your trip! Loves!

The other part that I loved about Christmas was being able to remember Jesus Christ by going to church and worshiping Him!

A wonderful Christmas had by all! The kids snuggled in their new sleeping bags they got for Christmas! We are so excited for some family camping trips this summer!
Merry Christmas to all...and to all a Good Night!!