I loved our living room with the 3 little, glowing pine trees that the kids each decorated with our well-loved box of random ornaments...and the row of snowmen with their hats and scarves. I think it was my favorite corner this season...I have undecorated the trees and put away the snowmen but I can't bear to put away the trees and their white, twinkly lights. Chris says we can keep them up until someone makes fun of us and then they have to go find a new home in the garage until next year.
Oh, little girls in tutus dancing and playing!
Snow, snow and more snow...doesn't feel so cold with good friends to hang out with!
Excited kids getting ready to go for a "cousin's night" at their Aunt Carrie and Uncle Todd's house...
Hannah was wearing regular clothes until it was time to go to the cousin party. She ran into her room and came out a few minutes later in what she calmly explained were her "party clothes".
And yet another use for the fabulous pink tutu...she makes me laugh...almost all the time!
A fabulous field trip to Gardner Village with our Mo to see the elves. I don't know why I look so puffy...I'm not pregnant and while my midsection is larger than it should be, I hope it isn't THAT large all the time.
Mo and all the elves. (Can you tell which ones are real and which one is pretend?)
MC and his glorious imagination. When our son asks if he can some ice-cream for dessert, it is always a work of art. 
A wonderful afternoon at the Nutcracker ballet! 
The stockings all hung on the banister with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there...
I loved our window decor this year. I added plastic, glitter snowflakes that I found at the Dollar Store and it looked so full of "bling". It made me happy...
More snowflake bling...
This was my favorite holiday activity. In the December 2008 Friend magazine, they had an activity where every day (starting December 1st) you would read a scripture about the Savior's life and then hang up a picture from the Gospel Art Kit that went with the story. We hung the pictures in our kitchen and read the scripture verses every morning at breakfast. It brought a tremendous spirit into our home for the entire month. I loved looking at those pictures every day and being reminded of the miracle of the Savior's life. We learned so much and I know my testimony was truly strengthened. It will be a tradition I hope we continue every year.
More holiday bling. (I'm downloading these pictures in very random order...sorry about the materialistic snowflake decorations happening right after the spiritual activity.)
MC on Christmas morning with his stocking loot.Christmas morning was so fun. The kids didn't wake up until about 7:15 a.m. and they spent forever going through their stockings, opening the little presents, playing with the activity books, eating random candy, and just having fun. We didn't even start on the "real" presents for a long time. It was fun to just savor and relish and cherish!
JC on Christmas morning with his stocking stuff.
Three darling kids in new Christmas pajamas.
Glorious angels and dancing and unbridled enthusiasm.
Cousins and nativities...
JC with his Santa gift. 
This year each child had a special card and note from Santa in their stockings that they were instructed to save for last. After everything else had been opened, they were allowed to open the card which told them they would have to work together to go on a treasure hunt to find their Santa gift. Each clue on the treasure hunt recognized an accomplishment from the last year of one of the kids...HB learning to use the potty, JC learning to cook, MC learning a song on the piano...and finally it led them to their gifts. It was a great way to incorporate some of the great things our kids have accomplished this last year and recognize their efforts. Plus it was just dang fun...and kept the suspense going a little longer. This is the kids hunting for one of their clues.
Chris with his new "gangsta" sweatshirt from Old Navy...and his boys from the hood.
Chris examining his stocking loot.
Blessed sausage rolls.
MC with his Santa gift.
How can one 6-year old be so ultra cool? This post just keeps going...but I'm trying so hard to leave some kind of written record of what happened at the end of this 2008. One of the most fun things we did was our advent calendar. Each day in the pocket was a "light" to go on our wooden tree and an activity. So every morning the kids would take turns pulling out the light, hanging it on our little countdown tree and reading what the activity of the day was going to be. We had so much fun. Here was our list of activities for this year...
Dec. 1: Open the first gift of Christmas. Why do we give gifts at Christmas time? (We get a new Christmas book to add to our holiday book basket)
Dec. 2: Decorate little Christmas trees for your bedrooms.
Dec. 3: Go to Festival of Trees.
Dec. 4: Make a gingerbread house. Read story "The Gingerbread Baby".
Dec. 5: Memorize a Primary Christmas song. Sing it for Dad to earn a treat!
Dec. 6: Do a magic act of service for someone in the family! Don’t let them know who it was.
Dec. 7: Go see the creche display in Midway.
Dec. 8: Make Christmas cards for our neighbors. Write down the things we appreciate about them.
Dec. 9: Memorize a scripture about Jesus Christ. Recite it for Dad to earn a treat!
Dec. 10: Go to Gardner Village and see the elves!
Dec. 11: Go for a family drive to see houses with lights and christmas decorations.
Dec. 12: Learn another Primary Christmas song. Sing it for Dad to earn a treat!
Dec. 13: Go to the Nutcracker Ballet with Mo and Papa. Write thank you notes!
Dec. 14: Make a card for the bishop. Tell him 3 things you appreciate. Go deliver.
Dec. 15: Make treats for neighbors. Go caroling and deliver treats and cards.
Dec. 16: Memorize a scripture about Jesus Christ. Pass it off to Dad for a treat.
Dec. 17: Make a card for your primary teachers. Deliver with a treat!
Dec. 18: Wrap your teacher gifts. Sign your name and put a picture in the front of the gift.
Dec. 19: Do a secret act of service for someone in the family.
Dec. 20: Have a family movie party. Make some popcorn and watch a Christmas movie.
Dec. 21: Go to temple square to see the lights. Talk about what blessings you have received from Jesus Christ.
Dec. 22: Special "Christmas" family home evening.
Dec. 23: Write what our gifts to Jesus are going to be for this upcoming year.
Dec. 24: Bear your testimony about Jesus Christ. Open one gift. (New pajamas)
Dec. 25: Open our gifts to Jesus. Read what we are going to work on for the year.
Chris and I sat down and made the list at the end of November and it really helped us feel like we got to go and do and see and remember and focus on the memories and feelings we wanted to create this season. We did really well...almost all the activities. It was so, so, so fun...and I was so depressed the day after Christmas when I realized it was all over for another year.
This doesn't even include photo documentation of the wild New Year's Party we had at Chip and ML's. We ate, played games, had cake and presents for Ethan's birthday, and then sent all the kids downstairs to watch a movie while the adults all rocked out on the Wii playing "Rock Band". You haven't really lived until you've seen Chip and ML singing into the microphone, Todd on the guitar, Carrie on the bass, me and Chris on the drums and the 80's tunes blaring out into the night. My favorite had to be Chip and ML singing "Eye of the Tiger"...we paused for a moment at midnight and someone finally kicked us out at 1:30 a.m. It was a fabulous night. Thanks for hosting Chip and ML!
I'm so grateful for all the joy and wonder of this season. I'm so grateful to be a wife and mother and daughter and sister and friend and aunt and cousin and all the other glorious privileges I've been given. I feel enormously grateful for my testimony of the gospel and the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ. I feel true cause to celebrate!
