This year we had the opportunity to go to Cheyenne for Christmas. It was so wonderful to go and see Josh's family, cousins, Auntie Phyllis and Uncle. Nothing beats family. It was so fun hanging with Cale and Suzette. One of my favorite parts of the trip was Old Chicago's with Suzette. It was all worth it evevn in NEGATIVE 10 degree weather with wind. What in the world?!?!? Every time I go to Cheyenne I love the size, I love the people, I love the way of life, but the weather... I'm sure it isn't bad once you live there and the pros totally out weigh the one con I have found! We are so happy we went and realized with our kids getting older and our own family traditions we most likely wont be traveling for Christmas any more. I am so happy we did it this year. We are for sure going for frontier days and 4th of July. Nothing beats Cheyenne in July!!!
We loved Christmas this year. The magic of Christmas really kicked in this year with Liam. He is really understanding the whole Santa thing. He loves it! Loves it so much he threw his BIGGEST tantrum yet this morning when we started putting away the Christmas decor. Liam's favorite part of Christmas was the presents. Wish I could say the gift of giving but he is 3 years old and really enjoys toys. We tried playing the whole Santa is watching you so be good card which he couldn't of cared less. Then we tried, "Do we need to call the Grinch?" it worked miracles. The truth is, Santa will come either way, but what if the Grinch really did show up. Scarey!!! Liam got a transformer which he asked for repeatedly. I am still waiting for him to play with it. He did really like the sword his sister got him however.
Layla, she loved sitting on the Christmas boxes and the baby banana's she got in her stocking. All Christmas morning she wanted to eat. She would find food in anyone's stocking and bring it right over. She ate, ate, and ate! To top it off she looked soooo cute in the Christmas dress Grandma Holly got her.
Christmas for me was a season of realization. I was so excited about finding toys, santa, a wish list and so on that one night in the middle of December I was sick to my stomach that I hadn't even really thought about the true meaning of CHRISTmas. It didn't help that read Christmas Jars (thanks Mom in Cheyenne, wonderful book with a wonderful message). I realized the gift of Christmas is that our Savior was born. The gift of Christmas is helping those who are need. I realized on Christmas morning Liam doesn't care if he gets 10 presents and is just excited to get 2. I realized no gift i can recieve compares to the feeling of giving. I realized how unneccessary my 'wish list' was and that I honestly didn't need anything. We are so blessed with all that we have. Next year I want to focus December on serving and giving. The story of Christ being born and the life that he lived. I was so proud of Liam when he spent his birthday money on Candy Canes for his friends in his Church Class I gave him the idea and he was totally ok with it. I was also proud of Liam and Daddy going out on a cold winter night to deliver presents to our wonderful neighbors and friends. I really want to do more of that stuff next year. Christmas really is wonderful for those reasons. A way to show love for those who mean so much to us.
Don't get me wrong Santa is wonderful and is always welcome down our chimney. But he is a part of Christmas not all of Christmas. He adds magic to season and smiles to children's faces. One of my fondest memories of Cheyenne was Uncle Cale reading, "The Night before Christmas" and the children hearing sleigh bells outside. You should of seen their faces. It was priceless. I love the anticipation of what Josh gets me (this year P90X) and a new pair of slippers each year. The neat thing about the gospel is we get to focus on Christ all year long. Every Sunday at church and throughout the week as we study our Scriptures. Christmas time is a time of giving, celebrating our Savior and "magic". Next year I want to focus not so much on getting but more on giving. Merry Christmas to all!!!
3 comments:
We had so much fun with you guys! I think my favorite part was having a partner in crime to go shopping with! :) And yes, there's no way around the crummy weather...I guess I just have to talk myself into it not being that bad since I'm now living here. haha!
You should hear Averie sing "The sun will come out, tomorrow!" She really gets into it. I told her that uncle Josh would sing a duet with her...she got really excited about that! :)
I agree completely, Santa is a fun thing, but traditions involving giving and Christ are what our children will remember most. The Christmas I remember most growing up was when my family had nothing, but we experienced incredible miracles.
Miss you guys already! Tell Josh that next time he tries to scare me in the basement, I'll throw a punch instead of dropping to the floor. hehe
Oh my! The last picture with Liam and Layla is way too cute! They look adorable and so much alike:) It looks like you guys had a great time for christmas, and sledding!
I love the line-ups of the children by the patio window and on the couch. Mostly I love that it all brought back very recent memories of all the fun and love we felt and had for our family this holiday. Thanks family for coming, Dad and I enjoyed it immensely. Love, Mom
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