Ahhh...Christmas!

This year was the best Christmas ever! Nobody was puking which is always a plus...and nothing was bought on credit which is an even bigger plus! My anxiety levels have been so much more under control than in years past and I am happy to report...no cold sores!!! Thank you L-Lysene prevention! For the first time in years, I thoroughly enjoyed everything about Christmas as you will see in the following posts! I loved the smells, the sounds, the sights, and the spirit of Christmas! I got everything I wanted this year: the soundtrack to GLEE!, new dishes, new pyrex, new jammies, new games, gift card for new contacts. But more than that...I gave everything I wanted this year: creativity in this year's Christmas card and poem, singing Christmas songs, searching for those perfect gifts...Nike Shox for Jansen, Steelers hoodie for Carlie, Zero Gravity rc for Will, and brown playdough for Kris! (And kudos for Jansen for the game cube he bought for the family! A first for our family!) Throw in some new webkinz, a long awaited rc helicopter for Jansen (he's wanted one for 5 years at least and he finally got one...from Santa of course!), and lots of candy...wow...we are so blessed.

But even if we took all those material things away....this holiday season has been so merry and bright. There has been a sweet spirit in our home as we prepared for all the festivities. It is sad to see Christmas go but we'll always have the memories of an amazing month. And if I go senile...we'll have these blog book entries to remind me. The following entries capture what Christmas is to me.

The only things I don't have pictures of are how I feel about the Savior this special time of year. The feeling that swell in my heart as my primary kids sang Away in a Manger in sacrament meeting, and the warmth I felt as we sat with the Jessop Clan at a candlelight service at Crosspoint Church where Rich and Ed sang the Casting Crowns version of I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. We all knew Ed could sing but Rich blew us away...and then the two playing guitars...it was almost more than I could handle! How thankful I am that we can worship our Savior with song! It's the best way I know of to thank Heavenly Father for sending his beloved son to earth to fulfill the mission he was given. I am so happy that we were able to keep the Christ in Christmas this year!