Merry Christmas to Us

Last Christmas was very special because we had a new baby in our home which gave a different feeling to the festivities. This Christmas was more on the fun side because Bailey had somewhat of an idea of what was going on. We had prepped her by taking her to see Santa, which she hated, and we sang songs all month long about Christmas. So she kind of knew what was coming, but I think despite all of our "prep work", I was WAY more excited than she was.



Christmas Eve we spent getting some last-minute things together and spending time with each other. Bailey and I both slept in--she doesn't like sleeping anymore so she's been waking up late every morning and I've been up with a cough from about 2 AM - 5 AM every night so it was much-needed sleep. Omai was up bright and early though to start assembling Bailey's big present--a pink kitchen. I had procrastinated sewing a skirt for Bailey so I spent the afternoon doing that. We met my family at my dad and Lesli's for a beautiful spread of appetizers and sandwiches followed by a scrumptous dessert of chocolate fondue. My favorite were the avocado eggrolls from The Cheesecake Factory and Rice Krispy Treats to dip in the chocolate. Yummy!! We had to quickly exchange gifts before heading to the Graybills to see the family. Bailey got a Play-Doh kit from her Grandpa and I'm totally stoked about it. I might let Bailey play with it.

We were really late to the Graybill's and missed dinner, the nativity, and gift exchanging so I decided next year we're just going to do one family per day. It's no fun to have to rush around and miss stuff because of the time it takes to drive everywhere. Maybe if NASA comes up with a flying car we can make it work, but until then, I think we need to try and simplify.

When we got home we put Bailey to bed and I fell asleep on the floor as Omai told her a bedtime story. I woke up and came downstairs and thought about just leaving everything to be set up in the morning, but dug deep to find the energy to get Christmas all ready. It turned out to be really fun to play Santa with Omai and to imagine how Bailey would react to everything in the morning.

We all slept in again and enjoyed a quiet morning. We decided to wait for my mom and Paige to come out before taking Bailey downstairs so we all took showers and got dressed while we waited for them to arrive.



After opening a few presents we realized we were all starving so we took a break to make breakfast, but by this time it was about 11:30 AM so I guess it was more like lunch. Omai made his yummy potatoes and I make scrambled eggs that we ate with cinnamon raisin bread that our neighbors gave us from Great Harvest. After our tummies were filled my mom did the dishes while we finished opening our gifts. I got Omai some running shoes, sweat pants, sandles, and a reading light. He surprised me with a sewing maching. Wow! I've been thinking of all the things I want to make with it. I'm pretty excited.







Bailey loves her kitchen and I totally went overboard with everything else. I thought I had kept everything in check, but after Bailey lost interest and I basically had to open the rest of her gifts, I realized I probably got a few too many. But I figure the gifts are really for me because I get so bored of playing with her toys that I need some new stuff to play with.

Bailey got lots of gum in her stocking from Santa.





After all the gifts were opened we all rested and enjoyed a quiet afternoon. We headed up to my mom's house for dinner and met everyone after they had gone skiing for the afternoon. We ate taco soup compliments of Tyra and had chocolate fondue again for dessert. It never gets old. After dinner, my mom was nearly busting out of her skin in excitement to give the girls our gifts. We walked into her room where she had all our American Girl dolls displayed with refurbished beds and trunks to hold all the doll accessories. It was all very cool I have to say and the girls really liked everything.







We did a family gift exchange and we had picked Chris and Chelsea to get a gift for. I put Omai in charge of buying their gift which I think was the highlight of his Christmas. He bought them a Coleman tent. I had worked hard to totally throw them off by asking them what they thought about a cotton candy maker or a kettle korn popper. Hehe. I did really well because they were totally surprised!



Matching hats and scarves the girls got from grammy.



With the whirlwind of activity for the past couple days Bailey wasn't able to really play with her kitchen until this afternoon and I think she really likes it. She loves stirring through all the plastic food and opening the cupboards and slamming them shut. I think we done good.



I love Christmastime and the magic that is in the air. I love that I have a daughter I can teach about Christmas and about why we celebrate it. I found myself thinking often about the Savior throughout the day as I would reflect upon how wonderful our lives are and how many blessings we have. We did a Sub-4-Santa with the Graybills for a Tongan family who have six kids and another on the way. The dad has a part-time job, but it just isn't enough to provide everything the family needs. When I find myself grumbling because I think we don't have enough money for something I want I think about our fridge that is full of food, or our heat that keeps us toasty warm and remember that others aren't as fortunate. During a Relief Society lesson a couple weeks ago the teacher said it's hard to imagine not being able to provide a Christmas for your family, but that it's a reality for a lot of people. It's humbling to know how much I have when there are so many people who are struggling. I really am so blessed.