Christmas Break

We are loving Christmas Break.

I am soaking in every single moment of it before we are thrust back into reality.

Dan and I celebrated 21 years of marital bliss (I'm not being sacrastic, by the way) in Salt Lake.

 It gets better every year I tell you.

We have been baking, eating out, doing puzzles, playing games, watching movies and the like.

For example...

Good times!

More Christmas

Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning

Hannah's homemade slippers for Dan

Emily's gift to Dan and me

Merry Christmas!

It has been a wonderful Christmas! Despite the lack of a white Christmas, I love that the holiday fell on a Sunday this year. 

Here are a few photos from Christmas Eve...

Emily playing Christmas music on the piano

Girls gathering around the tree before our Christmas Eve dinner with family

Left: A few additions to our "Travel Tree" this year   Right: The "regular" Christmas Tree

We are filled with gratitude for our many blessings and most of the gospel of Jesus Christ, our family and dear friends.

Merry Christmas!

Another Christmas Favorite

The family joined the youth in the ward this week to go and see the lights on Temple Square.

I was going to go, but I have to admit I saw the potential to get SO much done thus I opted out.

Five of my favorite people in the entire world!

A Christmas Favorite

Is making sugar cookies and decorating them with

my sweet Julia!

Spirit of Christmas

Really, there is no better way to get into the spirit of Christmas than with music.

Saturday, the family attended a Choir performance of Julia's at the BYU Museum of Art.

It was in celebration of a new acquisition of the museum's by local artist, Brian Kershisnik.

The painting is called The Nativity and it is beautiful.

 Even though Julia is not smiling in this camera phone photo, 

we all got her to smile throughout their performance.

The Wasatch Choir is downright amazing!

A surprise came when the children were told they were going to get to hear from the artist himself about his painting. The large group of parents and children lined the gallery halls and listened intently while the children asked him questions about his work. The questions were quite remarkable and we all learned even more about the artist's inspiration and interpretation of the painting.

Emily and I saw this painting several weeks ago and loved it.

It is not your typical depiction of the Nativity and to hear the artist describe his work was moving.

Dan surprised me with an early Christmas gift and bought me a framed copy.

It now hangs in my dining area and I love it!

Let It Snow Already

We are counting down the days until Christmas...

the house is decked out, the exterior lights and wreaths are hung,

the Christmas shopping has begun, and the air is cold.

But there is no snow on the ground or even in the foothills.

So we have turned to Emily's creations to simulate the snow we are lacking.

In her moments between studying, class, working, helping me and seemingly everyone around her,  

 her rare moments of rest and relaxation yield these beauties.

So, whether we actually have a white Christmas remains to be seen,

but in the meantime, I'm loving this alternative!

Deep Breathing

December is here and it is one of my favorite times of year...when I am on top of everything.

 Can you see the disarray of the bathroom? It pretty much represents everything twisting and turning in my mind this very minute. So, today I am focusing on deep breathing because I am so.very.very.behind on everything.

No Christmas cards are even in the works yet.


I have purchased one gift so far. That's right...one gift...yikes.


My house looks like a pair of hurricanes has gone through it, no kidding, the stairs are littered with stuff, remanants of paper snowflakes are scattered throughout the main floor.


I have Thanksgiving leftovers in my refrigerator still...gross.


I need to prepare for a Relief Society Dinner that I'm actually looking forward to hosting.


Family Christmas traditions are waiting to be organized, prepared and executed (like baskets for the Widows in our ward, one of my favorites). 


Last night as all 4 girls and the dog piled on top of our bed at 10:30pm they talked of wanting to make homemade    gingerbread houses this year. I guess homemade sugar cookies aren't going to cut it.


I could go on and on, but as my dear mother always reminds me..."one day at a time."

So despite the self-imposed stresses of the season, I am taking deep breaths and focusing on the true meaning of the season. And I feel better already!