A Comfortable and Sweet Life!: Christmas

Our Christmas was so wonderful! I had spent weeks prior worrying if we would be able to move into our new home by Christmas and then wondering if we would be able to be "settled enough" for it to feel like "home" for Christmas. When Christmas Day did come around all my dreams had come true... our family was happy, healthy, and together, we were in our new home and it truly did feel like "home", and we even had time enough to decorate for Christmas and set out all my Nativities! I counted this year and I have 43 different depictions of the Nativity (Creches, artist prints, puzzles, wall hangings, etc.) but that does not include the ornaments I have. I know, some of you may think I am crazy. But I am just fascinated with how different artist use different media to depict that Holy Night. I love my Savior and His birth is so sacred. I do not want our children to ever mistake what Christmas is all about. Santa is a very small part of our Christmas. We keep it real, we keep it about Jesus.

Our Christmas day was a wonderful and fun day. About as perfect as a Norman Rockwell painting you can get. I was so content and full of joy that I even stopped at one point and thought to myself, "I am so content and full of joy today!" Anyway, here are a few tidbits of our day...

The children playing happily together with Andrew's new "Mouse Trap" game. Too fun!

The tradition of putting together a puzzle. Everyone worked on it at some point during the day, yes even Ben and Andrew did! Andrew would find pieces with a certain color requested and Ben actually put together several! So smart! This is a tradition brought from Nathan's side. Nathan's parents brought this puzzle and put together most of it.

I am including this photo not only to show how big Nick is getting (just look at that kid, he's a young man!) but also to show the fireplace. I think this is the only photo I have that shows the fire in the fireplace. Christmas Day was the first day that Nathan built a fire in our new home. How sweet...and comfy!

Our adopted auntie, "Trishie", came over too! She couldn't get home to Hawaii for the holidays so we had her over. We are the next best thing to family because no one besides her actual family could love her as much as my kids do! Actually it might be a pretty close competition!

Her birthday was a couple weeks ago and we never got her gifts to her (the move and everything messed us up), so we gave her one of her birthday gifts on Christmas day. I didn't have any birthday paper so we turned Christmas paper inside out and decorated it with words. It was a nativity set. She didn't have one of her own. I think she liked it.

A big hit this year on the toy front was the "HEX-Bugs". They are little robotic bugs and the kids are just fascinated with how they move. It is pretty cool. Both Nick and Tatiana recieved some of those. Santa was pretty kind to everyone this year as well. Andrew received a PIXAR CARS Race Track, a nice, simple, collapsible and carry-able one. Ben received some STAR WARS LEGO sets. He was in HEAVEN! Tatiana and Nick both received ipod Touches. Very cool. They not only play games and music on them, but they are good at keeping up with the calendars and they read their scriptures on there. I think their favorite thing to do is take pictures.

And Santa also brought everyone breakfast in their stockings like he does every year. Yum!

I love this picture! Andrew received a penguin hat and Ben received a polar bear hat. Too stinkin' cute!!! Andrew has worn his all around town, he loves it!