Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year!  We have so much to be grateful for.

 The past several years we have loved going to Benihana for Christmas Eve dinner.  But as circumstances would be we just had an expensive car repair and have at least 2 more repairs needing to be done.  Don't cars just have the worst timing?  So we decided it would be wise to save where we could and dinner at Benihana was one of those areas to save.  Instead I made a simple dinner made fancy by busting out my china, tablecloth and candles.  The kids thought they were eating like kings and queens.  A dinner of ham, scalloped potatoes, beans, french bread and 6-layered jello was yummy and easy.  I couldn't even bring myself to make a dessert with all of the treats we had lying around and the kids were all to glad to choose from them.  Brandon declared the dinner a success and something we should continue every year instead of Benihana.  We'll see  . . .

 After dinner it was time to open Christmas jammies from Mom!  This could very well be the last year I can get matching pj's for the boys.  It makes me a little sad because they're so cute.  Why do they have to grow up?  Sarah, of course, got to match her doll since she's deprived of sisters.  After the kids were snug in their jammies we played a couple of games, watched a short DVD about the birth of Christ, read a few Christmas stories, and set out cookies and egg nog for Santa.  I think Sarah was up for most of the night half terrified that a strange man would be coming in her home and half excited to see what Santa would bring!

 Lucky for us Santa DID come!  Jacob got a Ripstick Ripster, new towel and scripture case from Santa.  Dad gave him a basketball hoop to hang in his room.  Nathan gave him a little safe to keep his money in thinking he'd outgrown his Lighting McQueen piggy bank (Jonah was all too happy to take that off his hands).  Grandma and Grandpa gave him a really nice sleeping bag with thoughts of beginning to accumulate Scouting stuff.  And Jacob received 2 books from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series from Nanny and Papa, along with a certificate to choose an experience sometime this next year with them.  We LOVE those experiences!

 Sarah received a new bike with gears, a towel and a little make up from Santa.  Sarah said, "Dad, now you don't have to BUY me a new bike.  You can save your money because Santa brought me one!"  Whew!  Good thing Santa's around to help us save money!  Dad gave her Mom's old Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls.  Jacob gave her a Furr Real puppy.  Grandma and Grandpa gave her a long awaited American Girl Doll, Rebecca!  And Nanny and Papa gave her some Amelia Bedelia books with her certificate for an experience of her choice!

 Jonah received a super cool big wheel bike (that tall flag isn't just by chance, Santa knew that Mom and Dad need a little help sometimes tracking Jonah down when he takes off through the neighborhood), a towel and a sensory toy.  Dad gave him a pillow pet.  Sarah gave him a Buzz Lightyear Nerf gun (complete with sound effects - can't wait for THOSE batteries to run out).  Grandma and Grandpa gave him a new CD player to play his nightly music on.  He's been using my old boom box from college.  We have to jimmy-rig that thing regularly to get it to work.  Nice to have a new one!  And Jonah received an alphabet book with a certificate for a circus experience with Nanny and Papa!

 Nathan got a bucket of instruments, a towel and a Doodle Pro from Santa.  Dad gave him a sensory ball.  Grandma and Grandpa gave him a CD player too for his bedtime music (he was using Brandon's old CD player which also had to be jimmy-rigged).  And from Nanny and Papa he received a fun animal book and a certificate for an experience at the zoo.

Santa was generous enough to bring a family gift this year:  a Foosball table!  Luckily Santa knows how to use KSL classifieds for used stuff!  Santa got a great deal!  That added with Nanny's spit 'n polish and detail for cleaning, it looked new enough to fool the kids!  We look forward to lots of fun time with our kids and their friends on this.

We had our traditional breakfast of cinnamon rolls, eggs, bacon and oranges with Nanny and Papa who slept over to join in the morning's excitement.  It was lovely to go to church, hear the choir sing and be reminded of the Savior's birth.  Later that night we joined the rest of Brandon's family at Shauna's house for a pot luck dinner while the kids and cousins played with their new toys.  I love Christmas!