Christmas "Wrap-up"

The food Our little family celebrated Christmas a day early. Sunday the 23rd was our Christmas Eve and we opened gifts the morning of the 24th. Later that afternoon, we traveled to Chris' Mom's who lives about an hour south of us. During the drive down Chris and I were talking about how easy-going our baby is. A mere ten minutes later, Hallie woke up from a nap and screamed at the top of her lungs for the remaining twenty minutes of the drive. We arrived at Mom's flustered and exhausted. But, we quickly relaxed when we saw the huge spread Mom had put out for us. She made the following homemade candies: peppermint bark, cashew brittle, almond joy, soft caramels, almond roca, and chocolate covered pretzels. I am tired from typing all of that. Then she fried homemade jalapeno poppers and made delicious pork tacos that we could "decorate" with sour cream, salsa, and fresh guacamole. Needless to say, we ate our way into Christmas comas. On Christmas morning, Mom made a hearty Denver breakfast scramble and cherry-cheese danish. Christmas night we had a traditional turkey dinner, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli and cauliflower in cheese sauce, and Christmas Cran-Raz Jello-O. Santa should have dropped off a treadmill too!

The spirit of the season Chris and I enjoyed our Christmas Eve (23rd) by watching a video of the nativity and the movie Joy to the World. It was a wonderful way to place significance on the real meaning of Christmas. I cried while watching the nativity. I was particularly moved by the sheperds this year. After having my own child, I know how it feels after giving birth-- you want to show pictures of your child to the entire world! I thought how magnified that feeling must have felt for Mary and Joseph. They were alone with their sweet baby boy. But in addition to that, they had a secret-- Mary had given birth to the Savior of the world! How gratifying it must have been when sheperds came to acknowledge the most significant birth of all time. While watching the movie a beautiful soprano voice softly sang the words "Let earth receive her king!" That line of "Joy to the World" had never moved me as much as it did then. I cried and cried. On the real Christmas Eve, Chris, Judy, and I watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional followed by Mr. Kruger's Christmas starring Jimmie Stewart. I cried again. It felt so gratifying to feel love and gratitude in my heart instead of just anticipation for gifts.


The toys Hallie's highlights of the season were clothes from grandmas and great-grandmas and toys. She received puzzles, a toy mini-van, a book, and a stuffed puppy from Santa. Mom and Dad got her practical gifts-- such as a baby toothbrush, shoes, and bigger cloth bibs. Hallie's favorite toy was something Mommy and Daddy created especially for her. Because Hallie loves to play with buckles so much (trust me she loves buckles), Daddy dreamed up a contraption where she could play with buckles everywhere she goes. He told Mommy that we should make Hallie a backpack with buckles attached. So . . . I got to work and hand-sewed her a small Winnie-the-Pooh backpack that has two pairs of large black buckles on pink straps. Hallie's reaction upon opening it was priceless. She noticed the buckles first and then slowly produced a big bright grin.