Merry Christmas!

What a wonderful time the Christmas season was this year! For some reason James and I were on the ball and had everything bought and mostly wrapped before December 1st! Good thing too because for most of the month we were sick! Colds and flu have been passing from kid to kid to mom to dad and all around again. Just today Avery seemed to be getting better, but Miles was starting to cough as I tucked him into bed. Even with all the bugs we managed to have a great season. I had a goal for each Monday in December to focus on Christ, his birth and teachings. The first Monday we told the story of Christ's birth and did a living nativity. It was the first time we have done that, a friend of mine said her family does it every year and I just loved the idea. Savanna was Mary, Miles was Joseph, and Avery was one of the Three Kings, giving a golden cup for her gift. The next day Miles said that it was the best family home evening ever!

 

My family, the Bogus's had a Christmas dinner at my Uncle Tom and Aunt Brooke's house in Salt Lake. It was really nice to spend time with my extended family and see all my cousins. The kids were really good and had fun with my cousins kid's. Heidi, Emily and I took the traditional holiday picture. Back when were were four and five years old we had this picture taken of us at my grandmas house, it was either Thanksgiving or Christmas, I'm not sure, but every time we have gotten together during the holidays as adults, my Aunt has tried to recreate the picture. This year we tried making the same faces as in the original.

2005, extremely pregnant with Savanna!

2010, Emily pregnant with Lainey, she is a much cuter pregnant lady!

2012, no pregnant ladies!

This year we also continued the new tradition we started last year of decorating sugar cookies with Grandma to give to Santa. Grandpa also came this year to help. We had so much fun! The kids, especially Savanna, were so creative in their decorating. Avery was so cute, she would spend so much time spreading the icing, putting on the sprinkles and chocolate chips, then she licked it all off and started on another one!

On Christmas Eve day my mom and brother came over and we gave them their presents and the kids got presents from them too. That night we stayed home (another new tradition that I am loving!) and had a big feast. I seriously made so much food, not sure why, there's only five of us! We set everything up buffet style in the family room and ate while we watched A Christmas Story. My favorite movie! Christmas morning came very early at our house and James had put something special in the kid's stockings. They each got a part to build a mysterious project in the basement. After they opened their stockings we went downstairs to build it.

The project ended up being a platform for the kids to set up their Defiant 4x4 track on! James discovered his new favorite toy this year and everyone has been having fun setting up new tracks and playing with it together. After building the platform we went back upstairs and opened presents. The kids are at such a fun age, every time they opened something they screamed "It's what I always wanted!" so cute! Around noon we went to James' parents house for another round of presents and Christmas dinner. The kids had fun playing with their cousins and running around eating candy. We came home and put the kids to bed at 6:45. They were beyond exhausted, and so were James and I. We were excited to have some alone time to relax and watch TV, but James fell asleep half was through one episode of Bored to Death, so we just went to bed.

This year Christmas time seemed to fly by, the day after I kept thinking of all the things I had wanted to do with the kids and just didn't have time for. I was letting myself get a little sad and let down, but then a I remembered all the fun we did have and I know my kids are building good memories of their childhood Christmases. I am so grateful to be a mom and to have a wonderful husband who makes our life possible. I am also grateful for my Savior and being able to spend this time of year with the one's I love most!