Merry Christmas...

Another Christmas comes to a close. All the rush this past week settled down and we had a nice Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I think the kids were excited with the gifts they received -- they all got exactly what they wanted! We had a fun day together and a nice visit with my Grandpa and then a good dinner, so what else could we have asked for?!?! Here are some pictures from our Christmas celebration!

On Christmas Eve I decided that I needed to make some cookies for my Primary class, so Jillen and I got busy. It was really kind of fun and relaxing, which is exactly what we needed. Too bad the kids had taken my cookie cutters for something and never put them back. Oh well, the circles proved much easier to frost!! :D Here is our before picture -


And our after picture. The kids helped with the frosting and sprinkling...


Here is the tree the way it looked before we headed off to bed on Christmas Eve. Yeah, I don't really get the whole deal with real trees, but it does smell better than the fake one that's sitting out in our shed. Of course, I could have bought a LOT of air fresheners for how much this cute tree cost. :)

So the rule at our house on Christmas morning is that the kids can get up as early as they want to and they can play with whatever Santa has left them, but they can't open, or unwrap, any presents until Tim and I are awake. Every year I am shocked when they actually follow the rule! And it's so fun for them to take turns opening the gifts, seeing who got what and who gave what to whom. They are usually more excited about what they gave someone else than they are about what they are getting. I think that's the whole point, right?

Who knew Hot Wheels cars would be so well received?? Of course, once he opened the first Bakugan (I have NO idea how to spell that!! I still don't even know what it is!! o_O ) toy Jayden was a lost cause! All he wanted was to play with this toys... Who cares that he still had several wrapped gifts in his pile! :D

Here is Jorden opening the shirt I was so excited to find for him a couple of months ago. He loves this silly cartoon on YouTube about Charlie the Unicorn. When the girls and I were at Hot Topic for the Twilight soundtrack listening party we saw this shirt and I HAD to buy it. I put it away and then mentioned seeing it and asked if that was something he would be interested in. He said no, he wouldn't wear it. I was horrified! Now what should I do?? Well, I decided to stick to the plan and give it to him anyway. Imagine my surprise this morning when he opened it and was thrilled!! And he wore it all day too!!! :D

My other big thrill of the day was this little moment. Jillen's favorite character from Twilight is Alice, the one she dressed up as on Halloween. Hot Topic carries an Alice shirt and Jillen has been DYING to get it. I told her I would see what I could do for Christmas. I had checked the 2 local Hot Topic stores several times and was never able to find one. Either they didn't have any or else they didn't have her size. So after looking one more time on Monday I finally told her that I had not been able to find it and that the girl at the store had checked all of the other local stores and none of them had an Alice shirt anywhere near her size. I told her that they wouldn't be getting anymore character shirts until after New Years, so maybe I could find one for Valentine's Day or something. Well, Tuesday Jensen and I were running some errands and we were over by my school which is next to a mall. This mall has a great Hot Topic store so I thought maybe we should check there one last time. I searched both areas that had Twilight stuff and on the last shelf, closest to the floor, I noticed that the shirt on the bottom of the pile didn't quite match the others in the pile. I bent down to see if it was the Alice shirt I thought it might be, and sure enough it was!! As I pulled it out I was thrilled to see it was the exact size Jillen needed!! :D Jensen and I grabbed it and went and paid and then we kept it a secret, letting Jillen think there was no way she would be getting it. This morning when she opened the box and saw what was in it, I think the whole neighborhood heard her scream...both times!! She was SO excited!! And, of course, she wore her shirt all day too!! :)

Here is Jorden in his new clothes from Granny and Grandpa and the new skateboard from Santa. All day long I just kept thinking about the Avril Lavigne song Sk8er Boi... "He was a ska8er boi, she said 'see you later boi!' He wasn't good enough for her. She had a pretty face, but her head was out in space, she needed to come back down to earth..." There's lots more to that song, but I just kept singing mostly that part.

Jorden the Sk8er Boi -

And our little Alice. Jillen got a bike from Santa, which was exactly what she wanted! And it's even kind of pink... (Hey Craig's List, Santa said to tell you thanks!! :D )

Here's Camo Boy Jayden with his new scooter. I am not sure why he wanted this, except that the kids have been riding the old scooters a lot lately and maybe they aren't in as great of shape as I thought. Oh well, he has his own now!! And a camo hoodie too!! Gee, if we ever have to live in the forest he is gonna run out of clothes quick!! They will just blend in!! :D

And our cute little Princess Jensen on her Princess Scooter. Lucky for her it has 2 back tires instead of just one, so that way she can balance better. She told me that she could never ride on a 2 wheeled scooter because she has no balance. Gee, she must get that from her mother... :D

In the evening we went to visit my Grandpa and Aunt and Cousin. Jorden was VERY excited to get to play with Christian and his new Wii. Maybe we will have to get one of those silly things one of these days...

Jayden was so entertained by it that he didn't even notice or care that Jensen was playing with his brand new Bakugan toys!! Shocking, I know!!! :)

And I did send out Christmas cards yesterday, but I didn't send them to everyone -- mostly just our siblings and parents and aunts and uncles. I few cousins in my family and a few friends and that's it. Who would have thought that just that little amount would be over 40 cards!! :o SO I decided that I would be nice to everyone else and post the letter here. That way if you want to read it, and you don't get one in the mail, you can click on it and copy it to you computer, then you can print it out for yourself!! I know, I'm lovely and wonderful. You don't have to say it... :D

Well, as I sit here and listen to the rain outside and the dishwasher running in the kitchen and my favorite songs playing on the computer I am thankful for all the wonderful blessings I have in my life. I have 4 fun children that I love more than anything. They are the greatest joy in my life and I love being their mother. It makes me so happy to see them growing up and becoming individuals. I love watching them develop their talents and strengthen their weaknesses. It makes me sad to watch them grow and know that someday they will leave, which will of course be too soon for me, but I am excited to see what they do with their lives and what kind of people they become. And I am also thankful for a family that is so wonderful. My parents and siblings are such loving people, and I am so happy to be able to spend time with them. I always feel so uplifted afterwards. They are great examples to me. I am also thankful for Tim's family. Most of the Christmas cards that we have received this year have been from his family -- his parents, siblings, aunts and uncles. They are such a good family and I am so thankful for them. I have enjoyed seeing the kids grow closer to their Grandma and Grandpa Whitmer over the last couple of years. There are so many things that the kids can learn from them that I can't teach them. And I know that they will be better adults for having learned those things. I am also thankful for my friends. I really do have some of the greatest friends ever!! They are so thoughtful and kind. It always brings a smile to my face when I think of getting to spend time with them. I couldn't have asked for better friends!! And I am thankful for Tim and the love and patience he has with me. I know there are lots of things that I need to work on in my life and I am glad that he is willing to put up with my stubborness and opinions and indecisiveness. He is such a good father to our children and I am thankful for that. Life isn't perfect but that's okay. I'm glad for what my Father in Heaven has given me. And I am thankful for a Savior who was born into this world so that I might be able to return to my Father in Heaven someday. What a comforting thought that is... And I guess that's the real reason to celebrate Christmas. I seem to be starting a little tradition for my Christmas mornings. Each year for the past few years my mom has given me a binder with family history in it, and I sit and read for hours while the kids play and destroy my house. What a wonderful gift it is to me to be able to learn more about these amazing people who made it possible for me to be here today. And to think that someday we will all be reunited after this life makes these Christmas morning reading sessions all the more special. That's another thing I am thankful for -- ancestors who were courageous and loving and honorable and dedicated. And I am so glad to be able to share that legacy from both my family and Tim's family with our children. And they will be better people for it.

Gee, now that Christmas is ending I think I finally found the Christmas Spirit. Let's hope I can remember it and find it a little earlier next year...