December Joy

And so the deed is done…

Christmas came…and it was lovely.

 

New Year’s came and it was also exquisitely lovely.

(Insert photo of the AMAZING feast and celebration we had at Chip and ML's home...the company, the food, the house, the decor...and our camera spent a lonely little evening all by itself on top of our refrigerator at home.)

I took a mental break from life for 2 weeks and it was really lovely. The kids didn’t have school or scouts or dancing or band or piano…some days we couldn’t think of a good reason to get dressed and so we didn’t. We went to bed late, slept in late, ate delicious treats and meals with wild abandon and played with some of our most favorite people in the world. There was much to fa, la, la about!


One of my favorite “December” events is our advent calendar. Inside each pocket for every day of the month are 2 small cards. On the first card is listed a scripture and corresponding picture. Starting on December 1st and continuing up until Christmas morning, we spend family scripture time reading about different events from the Savior’s life and we hang the different pictures on a prominent wall on our kitchen. The scriptures start with the prophet Isaiah foretelling of the Savior’s birth and end on with the Lord’s Second Coming. I love this tradition. It is difficult to describe the simple peace it brings to our home and the visual reminders every day of who the Savior is and the potential we have to be like him.

(Squint your eyes and look in the "background" of this picture for a pathetic peek at what I'm trying to describe...next year I'll get a better picture.)

The second card has the daily "activity" on it. These activities range from special field trips to making special gifts or trying new holiday recipes or memorizing a scripture or song...we cover the range from very simple to slightly more elaborate. But it is my effort to make sure that every day we are creating memories as a family that help us to focus on the true spirit of the season. I love December. I love Christmas.

And now we are in the middle of January...so it may be time for a very quick recap and some pictures. May I present...December 2010!

The month started with a fabulous sledding trip up American Fork Canyon with some of our absolutely favorite friends to take adventures with...we know how to do mountains here in Utah...

MC made his debut as a "present" in the 2nd grade school assembly...

Carrie Ann hosted an exquisite "birthdayS" dinner for HB, Grandpa Green and I...the perfect evening ended with a giant chocolate Costco cake which I ate until I thought I would explode. You only turn 40 years old one time...and it isn't often someone buys you a chocolate Costco cake.

One of HB's aunts gave her this coat and beret for her birthday. I already think she is one of the most darling things walking this planet...but then you add a beret and pink and brown polka dots? It is almost to much.

We grabbed some of our favorite people and headed up to Gardner Village for cookies and hot chocolate at the bakery and an afternoon of trying to find all the elves. This is one of my FAVORITE holiday traditions!

JC's 4th grade class held quite a Christmas extravaganza in their class this year. It involved plays, skits, singing, instruments, and lots of goodies. JC had the leading role as Santa Claus in one of the plays...he was hilarious. We also attended our first "band" concert where JC did a fabulous job in the trumpet section.

I think I also mentioned previously that JC taught himself to play the piano this month. And I'm not kidding. Chris claims we are the most secretly brilliant parents on the planet because we deny our children things they want so badly (like piano lessons) and then they eventually get old enough that they can just sit down and figure it out themselves. Think of the money and headaches we have saved!

Abby & James came into town with their darlings. It was so, so fun! We took an afternoon and roamed our classy little selves around the Grand America Hotel in downtown Salt Lake. It was amazing! The window displays were beautiful and the kids did a scavenger hunt that ended up in the bakery where they each received bags of melt in your mouth shortbread. It will definitely be on our annual Christmas "to-do" list. The hotel has fancy-schmancy doormen, free cookies and orange water in the lobby, amazing decorations, and even apostles...we had a President Uchtdorf sighting in the toy store. Abby was classy and gave him his space and I giggled and had to say, "Hi President Uchtdorf" to get his attention. He looks EXACTLY like he does in his pictures...

Did you notice the window display where the dinosaur was eating the gingerbread people? I think it was my favorite. And the picture above was taken in the bakery of wonders and delights. The day ended with a very awkward tour of the Beehive House and then watching the lights on temple square turn on from the 10th story window of the Joseph Smith building. We used the last of Mo & Papa's magic "parking" tokens...downtown will never be same without those golden coins.

There were lots more snow days...

ML hosted a cousin party at her house one afternoon where we made gingerbread houses and had a delicious lunch. Teo jumped right up to the table when he heard the candy being poured into the bowls and went right to work with both fists. He bypassed making the houses and just went right for the sugar overload. That boy loves candy. Please appreciate Ethan's catholic church and the mounds of frosting on the other homes.

 

After a wonderful afternoon of gingerbread house making, the kids and I headed to the skating rink to try and perfect some of our ice-skating moves. JC clung to the wall for dear life, MC picked up the whole skating thing in about 15 minutes, and HB found herself a "skating walker" and was literally twirling on one foot in the middle of the rink by the end. The funny thing was watching her spin, crash onto the ice to stop spinning and then crawl on all fours to get back to her walker to help her stand up and start the whole thing over again! Ah, to be young and invincible!

 

Carrie and Todd hosted a beautiful evening on Christmas Eve. The food was amazing, the company delightful, and the entertainment top notch. JC spent the whole afternoon "writing" the Christmas Eve program and it was something else. MC spent the afternoon printing jokes off the internet and then cutting and pasting them to index cards so he and Ethan could do their comedy routine. HB spent the afternoon making reindeer antlers out of pipe cleaners for her "Rudolph" skit...and somewhere in the middle of all this we did read the Christmas story and act out the nativity with the pieces to Carrie's nativity set...the angel ended up wounded at the end (somehow we broke off the tip of her wing). The evening was made even more special with Grandma Green's spontaneous kazoo concert and with Chip and ML giving each family a copy of the book "The Tomten" and Chip sitting in the middle of everyone reading it out loud. It was a moment I will cherish forever!

 

We left the Rhodes' home with very full bellies and hearts bursting with gratitude and happy. It was a wonderful evening! We headed home to open our Christmas jammies and then dive into bed with visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads!

 

Christmas Day was relaxed and wonderful! We opened gifts, ate sausage rolls, and I rode my brand new bike over to my in-laws. I think I rode with a big, goofy smile on my face the whole way over. I love, love, love my new bike!

 

New Year's Eve we enjoyed a true "soiree" as we ate amazing food and enjoyed the fabulous hospitality of Chip and ML. We celebrated Ethan's birthday and then rang in the new year...although I almost missed it because I had fallen asleep with HB in a soft bed. Luckily when lots of people count down it is very loud and I was able to make it  into the family room in time for lots of hugging and kissing. Being 40 years old can be very taxing...don't judge me.

And so a new year has begun. I love new years because I don't have any regrets yet. I can look back over the last 10 days and feel pretty good about things. I don't set new year's goals or resolutions because they just bring guilt and regret. Instead,  I try to steady the course, promise to learn new things, always remind myself to be grateful, and try to not eat so much Chick-Fil-A.

Hope your season was very berry and bright!

Welcome 2011!!