Our Grateful Christmas

I've been grateful for the little things this Christmas season--the First Presidency Devotional, this story of "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", an anonymously-gifted box of fruit in the mail (who sent that?!), Christmas cards from friends, a tin of butter cookies from a new neighbor.  Mainly our kids have been their own individual sources of Christmas joy.  

We have enjoyed reading Christmas stories, but this year I decided I wouldn't postpone the real Christmas story until Christmas Eve.  Each night since Thanksgiving we have read Luke 2 and our kids are memorizing it--I hadn't really believed it would happen but they are doing great at it.  It's amazing!  J has whole verses memorized.  E and A can fill in blanks with words like "Bethlehem", "swaddling clothes", and "heavenly host". 

E "taking a picture" of me while I really was taking a photo of him.

I didn't even get upset that the gingerbread house that my awesome sister-in-law sent was shattered, undoubtedly because the USPS guy tossed it at my door--my kids were so excited about the candy inside that we used them anyway.  We enjoyed making gingerbread/graham houses and then eating them before they became too stale. 

Tannebaum Decorator General

J spearheaded tree decorating this year.  A week and a half ago he put the plastic balls up. He has been begging to put the "toy ornaments" on, so we brought those out and the kids put all but about five of them on by themselves.  This year's tree is truly a kids' tree.

Our Christmas blessings chain continues to grow and grow.  It is good to feel so full at Christmas time.