Christmas

Christmas morning came on my favorite day of the week...Sunday! I got to spend a tiny portion of the day in my favorite place of learning...church! We had been practicing our cantata for months, and to be honest, I was beginning to get annoyed with it. However, when our meeting closed for the day, the congregation sang "Away in a Manger," and all at once, I was struck with the sure testimony of the reality of our Savior and his love for us. The spirit overcame me and I could not sing. I felt like this was a gift from the Savior to me personally, a light into my heart and a lift to my spirits that I needed with every fiber of my being. It was another of the gifts of "true Christmas" that the Father blessed me with this Christmas. I'm so grateful!

The children were pretty happy with their gifts. Kelly loved her memory foam pillow (from me) and the nail polishes and remover from her siblings (all sparkly colors!). Joe was so happy to find a guitar case under the tree from me, and thrilled with the portal "turret" that he received from his siblings. Laine received the exact pillow pet she had been wanting (a panda) and from her siblings, she received a desk organizer and a bunch of writing supplies. Johnny was excited that he now has a new set of scriptures with a snap, exactly what he hoped to get. From his siblings, he received a big block of pepper jack cheese, a weather radio and a lamp (kind of like a lava lamp, only with little fish inside that "swim" around). Santa brought the family a telescope, a game called the Settlers of Catan, a new Brandon Mull book, and a bunch of edible treats for pets and people.

We have been so blessed this year. I'm looking forward to 2012 for a variety of reasons, but I can't let the year pass away without expressing again how grateful I am for the blessings the Lord has placed in our lives. We couldn't make it through each day without the love of all of our friends and family!