Christmas Morning

Our letters to Santa must have made it to the North Pole, because their wishes for a train and ducks came true! 

Santa set up an awesome Lego train set in our living room:

Complete with Lego ducks and a Lego dinosaur!

P1 was very excited to see what Santa brought, we had a hard time convincing him to go potty first, and then wait for his sister.

He liked the trains, and really enjoyed the dinosaur!

P2 wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she found her ducks:

 

Our stockings were full of goodies, Star Wars Hotwheel cars, and new crayons for the kids. P1 claims that the best thing from Santa was the goldfish crackers, and the second best thing was the new crayons. (Take note Santa!)

 

Christmas Eve

Last year the kids got a BluTrack racetrack for their cars. Our tradition is to add to it every year, and to only keep it out for a week or so. Then it hides with all the Christmas stuff until next year. This year we added some ramps so we could make some good loops! The kids have enjoyed racing (and crashing) their cars down the track!

We had Christmas Eve dinner with my family. Afterwards we did a little Christmas program where we read Luke 2 and sang some Christmas songs. We had yummy apple dumplings for dessert. Grandma bought some fun games for the kids to play: Hungry Hippos and a Dr. Seuss Matching game. The kids really like Hungry Hippos! It was getting late, so we let the kids open one present from Grandma and Grandpa, and decided to do the rest the next day.

The both got some great books! And wanted Grandma to read it to them immediately!

P2 was being pushy, so P1 let his uncle read the book to him.

And Grandpa did his traditional reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas." But alas, I did not get a picture! We went home and got the kids in bed so that Santa could come!

Early Christmas

We were going to have PE's sisters over on Christmas day, but they ended up getting last minute flights to see their parents who are serving a mission in Georgia. So we had them over on Monday night to exchange gifts.

PE and our nephew got Lego Star Wars build-able action figures. They are pretty neat, and they really liked them. P1 got Cody, and our nephew got Jango Fett.

 

They needed help assembling them, but then they had fun chasing each other with them.

We joked that PE was a planet that they were flying around.

Speaking of Star Wars, PE and I saw the new one for his birthday. The movie was very well done and definitely felt like Star Wars. There were some minor issues I had with it, but overall I really liked it. I enjoyed the new characters much more than I thought I would.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

December was busy, busy, but we had a lot of fun celebrating Christmas!

The kids wrote letters to Santa, and P1 asked for a train, and P2 asked for ducks. We had a wonderful Ward Christmas Breakfast and Santa showed up! P1 was excited to see Santa. I thought we had it this year! But as soon as it was his turn, he started to pull his crying face. And being the good mother I am, I backed away and left him, so that I could get this awesome picture! (I quickly returned and comforted him).

I tried to get P2 to sit on his lap, but she would have none of that!

PE tried to get P1 to at least talk to Santa from a safe distance. But alas, that resulted in crying too!

It wouldn't be Christmas in our house without our traditional gingerbread men. I made over 200 of these little guys. Don't worry, I didn't eat all of them, just a lot of them. The kids loved eating them too!

We had an epic snowstorm this year. Over two feet of snow was recorded! And the storm came in the day PE had to fly out of town. Which left me shoveling 2 feet of snow. And our snowblower wouldn't work. I usually love snow, but I was sure not enjoying it this time! It completely wiped me out, and each time the snowplows came through, they would leave more for me to shovel! I had kind neighbors help a couple times, but I still did most of it by myself. When we picked up PE from the airport, I told him that we were switching and I was going to hop on a plane to Hawaii.

I got the kids geared up, and we went outside to play. P2 hated it, and cried the whole time.

Fortunately, P1 loved the snow this year!!! Huge improvement for him! And I'm glad at least one of us enjoyed all this snow. He jumped right in, and was basically swimming in the snow.

We took the kids sledding in the backyard. P1 loved it and P2 had a love/hate relationship going on. Mostly hate though.  We went sledding another day with my mom and sister. We walked around the corner to the golf course, and enjoyed going down their hills. It was a real workout, but P1 really liked it. Grandma had to hold P2 most of the time. 

We finally made it to the see the lights at Temple Square. We haven't been for years. And I don't think we will go back for years. Way too many people!!! We had our nephew with us too, so the adults were outnumbered. And I was very worried about losing one of them, because the crowds were so crazy and the kids didn't really want to hold our hands.

 P1 enjoyed all the water features way more than the lights.

Fuzzy proof that our nephew was indeed with us.

Pictures

Playing the piano:

Sick kids = TV

Making gingerbread men (or eating them):

His cousin was playing with a tablet, so he came over with his doodle pro.

One Year Ago

One year ago I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. At first I was relieved to have a diagnosis, but that quickly turned to worry once I realized there is no cure (except to have your colon removed). Each new medicine would help at first, but then my symptoms would return, often worse than before. And each time, the medicine would get more expensive.

This talk really describes how I have felt during this year. When I think about last April, I just remember being in darkness. The pain and exhaustion consumed me. I have always felt confident in my faith, in my testimony. But this really challenged my faith. I felt "anxious, confused, and disoriented" in this dark place. I knew God was still there, but I felt like prayer was a waste of time. What's the point of prayer if God's "will" will always be done?

But I kept praying. I wanted to be filled with the Spirit so that I could receive personal revelation on how to live with my colitis. I worked on being more obedient and diligent in keeping the commandments. Including things like going to bed early and arising early (D&C 88:124). I started going to the temple every week which required a sacrifice of sleep, because the only way to make that happen was to go early in the morning while my family was still sleeping. And by being in the right places at the right time, I was blessed with the counsel and inspiration that I needed. These places included being in Sacrament meeting, Stake Conference (including the adult session), and listening to General Conference (including the Women's Session).

As I exercised my faith, I was blessed to see that God was with me. Elder Scott's last talk in General Conference has really stuck with me. Life is hard, and it is supposed to be. But as we actively come unto Christ we will be able to endure "every temptation, every heartache, every challenge we face."

I can testify that the Lord does visit His people in their afflictions (Mosiah 24:15). Colitis has been a blessing in disguise. It has forced me to grow a lot this past year. My faith is stronger, my understanding of prayer and the Atonement have increased tremendously. My love for the temple has grown. I have a greater desire to serve others and help lift their burdens.

God will not abandon us, but He respects our agency, and we have to choose to come unto Him.

I am so grateful for the birth of our Savior. The gift of God's Only Begotten Son is what makes hope possible, even when we feel surrounded by darkness. I love this time of year, when we can celebrate the Savior's birth and life. And I am so grateful for the good family and friends that have helped me carry this burden this year.

As Tiny Tim says: "God Bless Us, Every One!"