Christmas 2011 Part Two

 Michael was a big helper this year with snow removal.

 The joys of December grocery shopping with toddlers.

 "The" igloo

 Francy and her cousin Ella.

Francy loved her first teaset.

All in all, it was a fun Christmas. We decided to simplify so we spent a lot less than we usually do for Christmas and it was better. We also were involved with a few charity projects. It was so much better. Oh, yeah.

Christmas 2011 Part One

Me and the kids.

My favorite new ornament.

The carriage ride.

Ta da!!

My entry in the family gingerbread house making contest. It lit up and everything.

Michael loved climbing the snow banks.

Christmas cards are some of my favorite things about the holidays. I love hearing about what other families have been up to, and seeing the pictures.

What I really wanted for Christmas

Nativity Kids

It's our new tradition. Hope you all had a happy Christmas everybody!

Christmas Trees: Then & Now

2004 was our first Christmas being married. Justin looks so young here even though he was 24. This next picture is of our tree in 2005. We decided to get a little more fANCY. Most of those presents were for Michael, who was still in my belly. In 2006 this looks like we had a ton of presents I know. My secret is wrapping up a few large and medium sized boxes to create a barrier between Michael and the tree. It actually worked pretty well. In 2007 we went and bought our first real Christmas tree. I sort of over decorated it. Last Christmas (2008) I was so excited to have a baby girl that Justin let me decorate in pink and purple. Wesley and Michael broke more ornaments than I could count.

That's why this year I decided not to use any glass ornaments. I decorated the tree with birds.

I don't really know why I take pictures of our Christmas tree every year but I guess it's kinda fun to look back. I can't believe we have been married for six Christmas and known each other for seven.Time flies. Merry Christmas, all!

A Pioneer Christmas

We attended our Ward Christmas Party on Saturday Night. It was a "Pioneer Christmas" theme. We had lots of fun dressing up for the occasion. I wore the same dress and bonnet I made and wore to a Pioneer youth trek when I was 17. Francesca wore a dress that my mother wore when she was a baby. Justin looked extremely debonaire similar to an englishman immigrating to Utah to be with the saints. We all ate dutch oven pork and potatoes and sang Christmas carols. It was all very "pioneer-esque".

The True Spirit of Christmas

Message By David O. McKay:
The danger which arises in our celebration of Christmas is the possibility of allowing the real purpose of commemorating the spiritual to be overshadowed by the material. The true spirit of giving happiness to others, the fellowship of good friends, the satisfying knowledge that Christmas reminds us of Chirst's promise of a new and better life must always be uppermost in our minds.
It is fitting at Christmastime to renew our desires and to and to strengthen our determinaton to do all that lies within our power to make real, among men, the messaage heralded by the angels. Let us glorify God by seeking the good, the true, the beautiful. Let us strive to establish peace on earth by exercising that same good will toward one another which God has shown toward us.
He lived for us, that we might live; He came to give us life eternal. Let us accept His gift with gratitude.
Jesus is the prince of peace, but he will not bring peace to the world in any magical way. As He has always done, He will grant it only according to the law upon whch it, like all blessings, is predicated. Hate breeds hate; love begets love; kindness invites more kindness; and kindness and love beget peace.
When mankind learns this simple lesson, peace will come to them as a natural result. Predatory interest will fade away. Men will see one another as brothers, each one created in the image of God. They will understand that to love God, they must first love their neighbors as themselves.
-Secrets of a Happy Life, David O. McKay, 1967