Merry Christmas 2010

In 10 minutes Christmas will officially be over. I just said to Chad that I always feel I've come down off of a month-long high as I unwind on Christmas night. The gifts have all been given for better or worse, goodies made and delivered, dinner served, phone calls to family made, Christmas programs attended, decorating done, and hopefully, smiles and laughter and thoughts of our Savior added into the mix of everything that we've done during the process leading up to this one day of the year.

Our family has been very blessed this year. Mike and I are grateful that we've been able to share our home with family this year, and we're especially grateful that we were able to share Christmas with Chad, Fiona, and Mia. I'm posting just a few of the pictures from this month -- sort of a continuation from the last post about Christmas tree hunting. I hope that everyone had a wonderful and safe Christmas. I'm blessed beyond measure to have a terrific family and to know that our Savior was born for us.



Fiona and Mia at their Christmas program on December 14. Mia was quite dramatic as she sang her songs, while Fiona was a little more reserved. Both girls did a terrific job and were proud of their beautiful Christmas dresses.


Our tree after the girls finished decorating it. I mentioned before that trees we hunt tend to have quite a bit of personality and this year's tree was no exception. Fiona and Mia were proud of it because they got to do most of the decorating with their ornaments. They got out my ornaments and wanted to know the stories to all of them. It's great to share the magic of special things with our little ones!


During our Christmas break, Mike and Chad worked to get the last of the kitchen wiring and plumbing done so that we can move the temporary sink and dishwasher to their permanent homes. While Mike was working on the lights in the kitchen, Mia sneaked up the ladder under him and wanted to know what he was doing. He showed her how to twist the wiring into place. Mia is proud to tell anyone who will listen that she helped make the lights work.

Of course, Christmas isn't quite right without the homemade cookies. Fiona and Mia were concerned that Santa have just the right kind of cookies -- the kind that had shapes and frosting. We had flour and frosting EVERYWHERE! At one point the girls had flour all over their faces. Santa was treated to four big cookies with lots of frosting and sprinkles. The cookies were accompanied by a large cup of egg nog. The girls thought it was funny that Santa ate all of the cookies except one gingerbread-shaped cookie. That one was left on the plate with its head bitten off. They laughed and laughed over that.

Pillow pets!

The girls wearing the crowns that the gave to each other. They were each so proud of the fact that they were giving crowns to their sister. We got a kick out of their excitement because we knew the secret of each gift.

Santa's big surprise to the girls was Band Hero! Mia is quite a little singer and dancer while Fiona has mastered the drums. Chad was excited to get into the act, so he had the drums put together and everything else organized in no time. The house was really rocking today!