This year I determined that the phrase above would not apply to me. We did all of our shopping online during the Black Friday sales on Amazon.com. We were finished wrapping it all up by December 1st. Yay! We decided to simplify a few things and just focus on being with friends and family. I even simplified my holiday decor. Haha! (That was the plan, anyway.) I got rid of some old junk, donated some nic nacs and old ornaments and decided to decorated simply. Greenery and glass balls. I love how it turned out so you will see lots of pictures.... but there were so many fun color combinations of the glass balls and I ended up with a tree in every room. Totally simple. Ha!
The trees upstairs are only 3 feet tall but light the rooms up! It was so fun to decorate this year! I also have a new obsession with lanterns. I bought 4. Simple decor, you know.
Turquoise and silver in Kwint's office
Red and Gold in Brennan's room
Blue and white in Kaeleb's room
Cream and Gold in the master
Two sweet nativities
And the big Red and Silver tree smattered with snowflakes.
We even decked the halls outside.
Everything was perfect! Until I looked at this picture of the house and realized there was definitely something missing. What's with the blue sky and grass everywhere? This is so not normal for Heber City Utah! We have been worried about the lack of snow and praying constantly that God would send us moisture. We had a few rainstorms, but it was too warm to snow. It even flurried a few times, but nothing stuck. So sad!
We didn't let it stop us from enjoying all our Christmas traditions though. (Just the ones involving snow gear.) We made gingerbread cookies, watched all our favorite Christmas movies, and had Kwint's annual Cinnamon Roll and Hot Chocolate Birthday Party.
Above is the castle Kaeleb made for their school's winter celebration, complete with working torch lights made from Christmas tree lights, a paperclip, and a battery. He is loving 5th grade!
This is Brennan when we went on a Mommy Son date. Kwint took Kaeleb to see the 3rd Hobbit movie and we went to Dairy Keen. I am pretty sure our date was cooler.
Kwint took the boys snowboarding at a resort for the first time. (We usually go up to strawberry for backyard boarding, so this was a big step up. They have man-made snow there, so it sort of felt like winter for a day. He said they did great!
Oops. Shoulda rotated those. Oh well.
The night before Kwint's party we let him open his birthday present, this shiny new snowboard, so that he could participate in the annual birthday tradition of snowboarding with Kris.
After their day on the slopes we had some food and family fun. :)
Boy oh boy, was Kwint in for an even bigger surprise when his brother and dad showed up with this huge box.... They got him a fat bike-- it has really fat tires to mountain bike in the snow. He was, to use his word, flabbergasted. He has never felt so spoiled and hardly knew what to do. He soon figured out what to do. He went for a bike ride with Kris. Yes, there was still no snow, but they rode in the mud, which is another good use for fat bikes.
Christmas Eve was spent in Layton at Grandma and Grandpa's
We drove by Temple Square when we took Marie home, which fulfilled that tradition, even though we elected not to get out of the car this year. The night we wanted to go it was CRAZY windy! Brr.
We went home and snuggled down in our beds, grateful and excited. Kwint woke me up at 6:30 and said "You have to look outside!" Here is what I found:
A Christmas miracle! We laid in bed feeling the Spirit whisper to us that even though these last days are filled with trials (this year has been a doozy all over the world.) He is listening! He answered our prayers so perfectly and poignantly. It had to be Christmas morning, and even though we fretted for 2 months, we were so glad He waited so that we could know He is the giver of all good things on Christmas Day. It snowed all day! We ended up with a fabulous pile of snow and more in the forecast for the coming week!
Brennan slept with Olaf, his Christmas Eve gift from Mama and Dad to help him sleep. Kaeleb got a Minion (Despicable Me) pillow, which he thought was super funny. He woke up first, at 8:30. (We had time to read scriptures, exercise, and shower before they woke up. LOVED it. Thanks guys!)
Christmas Morning!! We really surprised them this year. We had them convinced that there was no way we were going to get them what they asked for. (A guitar, a drum set, a tablet PC for each of them? No way! Too expensive! It was a hefty list. But remember those Black Friday deals? The boys got so lucky!)
Now the home looks fully decorated for Christmas!
They were so mad that we made them drink a protein shake before opening gifts. (To ward of the hangries.)
Stocking stuffers...
Best moment of all: The hug Brennan gave Kaeleb when he opened the present from his brother.
(Remember the candlestick in that picture. Just sayin'....)
And yet another surprise. Look at the shock on his face!
This confused face is when Kaeleb opened the guitar stand before he opened the guitar. :) He was suddenly excited to open the big box.
This next confused face is when Brennan opened the tablet case before he opened the tablet. :)
Christmas morning was made even more memorable by my impromptu decision to remodel the kitchen. There once was a cabinet where this picture hangs.
I got a new candlestick from Grandma, which I thought would look great on top of that cupboard. (Remember the picture from before? Yep, that candlestick.) I pulled up a chair and climbed on the counter. I arranged the candlestick, and when I turned to step back down to the chair my belt loop hooked itself to the knob on the cupboard door. I went sailing across the kitchen attached to the door, which ripped off the cupboard and shattered upon our landing on the floor. Yep, way over there by the sliding glass door.
Somehow I escaped without so much as a bruise.
And I got to do a few of my favorite things on Christmas Day: spackle,
paint, and decorate. We decided we like it better without the cupboard
anyway.
I love the big jar from Kris and Barbi. It was full of treat and movie tickets. I just have to think of what to do with it now. :) I have visions of it filled to the brim with M&M's but I will probably think of something healthier than that.
This morning Kwint's fat bike met the snow. It liked it.
Brenny woke up determined to build a snowman. We sure tried to. But it was so cold and the snow was so powdery that it wouldn't pack into a ball! So, we made a mini Mt. Rainier. And erupted it.
He said it was fun.
We spent the afternoon at Soldier Hollow cross country skiing. It was so, so fun!
What a year it has been! We are so blessed and so grateful for the love of our family and friends. We are especially thankful for our Savior, Jesus Christ and the tremendous impact His atonement has on our lives. We love our Heavenly Father and His great work. Though the trials are not easy we know He has been with us and ever will be, and that He gives us treasured experiences like these to ease the burdens and bless us along the way until He comes again.
