Christmas Countdown

Our family has been having a great holiday season! Here is what we've been up to:

1) Putting up the Christmas tree and other Christmas decorations (The kids really got into decorating the tree this year and are always asking if they can plug in the lights. They'll turn on the lights, exclaim how "magical" it looks, and then start dancing around and singing "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year." They also really love their stockings made by Grandma Freeman (a family tradition from my great grandmother on my father's side). Sometimes they just can't resist and instead of just looking start touching and pulling on them. We've had a stocking along with its holder come crashing down three times.

2) Our Stake held a Nativity for the community, and we enjoyed helping with cleaning the church building in preperation for the event and then attending with our family. There were hundreds of nativities displayed throughout the building, and in the primary room they had a large stable and costumes where families could dress up and get pictures taken. Cicialy was really excited about being an angel, I was Mary, Dan was Joseph, and our big baby Weston was Jesus. For the first time in his life Will refused to participate, repeatedly telling the elderly volunteer who was trying to coax him to be different things that he didn't want to be anything at all. (He has since informed me it was because he liked his astronaut costume)

3) The kids each got to pick out a Christmas story from the bookstore to buy and bring home. We have since been reading them, along with the others we already had, almost every night.

4) As a family we made and decorated a huge batch of Christmas sugar cookies which were devoured in less than a week (I'm pretty sure Dan was taking more than his fair share to work everyday). The last two were finished off yesterday by the kids only after reassuring them that Grandma had cookies at her house to give Santa so we didn't have to save any of ours : ) I also had to make sure Grandma had carrots for the reindeer too!

5) Playing in the Snow! Yes, it did snow in Houston one evening and we woke up to a little bit still left on the ground. The kids thought it was a Christmas miracle!

6) Listening to Christmas music. Will and Cicialy love the classics like "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer", and "Frosty the Snowman". They are constantly running around the house singing these songs. On Saturday while we were out and about in the car I put in a CD of beautiful Christmas music by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. William immediately protested by stating, "MOM, this is not CHRISTMAS MUSIC, this is CONFERENCE MUSIC."

7) Watching tons of Christmas movies. We've watched all the classics that come on TV every year and borrowed lots more from my parent's DVD library (Elf, Santa Clause 2, Snow Globe and several other cute yet cheesy ABC Family Christmas movies).

8) Getting a visit from Santa Claus. When Santa Claus appeared at the end of our ward Christmas Party Cicialy went crazy. She started shaking and got the biggest smile on her face. Will and Cicialy both knew exactly what they wanted from Santa Claus and let him know the second he asked. (Cici wants a pink kitchen and Will wants the Geo Trax Airplane). Weston enjoyed eating Santa's beard.

9) Playing with our Little People Nativity. We bought this Nativity two or three years ago and it has been well worth what it cost. Our kids love playing with it and we've used it countless times to illustrate the Christmas Story. We set it up right next to the Christmas tree so they can play with it whenever they want and to serve as a reminder to them what Christmas is really all about. Yesterday we focused our family home evening on the true meaning of Christmas and had them read with us the Christmas Story from Matthew and Luke while using the Nativity to suppliment the story. We then had them listen to the primary song "Picture a Christmas" which reminds children to picture Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the Angels, etc. when they think of Christmas. It really turned out great!

10) Getting excited to spend a few days at my parent's house and the arrival of some cousins! My kids can't wait till tomorrow morning when they'll get to see Aubri, Daegon, and Koen.

We love Christmas and really think it is the most wonderful time of the year! We hope that all of you are having a great holiday season as well and are taking the time to remember our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Best Wishes for a happy, heathly, and successful new year (don't we all need that in these times).