Christmas Day

Christams Dayis always a blur. I never remeber much of it. We wake up and kids can see what Santa brought. Then, we eat and get ready for the day. Then, we can start opening presents. We take turns, so it lasts longer. Once we have opened gifts, we are off to Granma and Grandpa's house to open more gifts and have lunch there. After a few hours, and full bellies, we drive back home and soend the rest of the evening playing with what we got, and just relaxing. 

We may not do anything memorable, but I sure love that we get to be with family and just relax. It's how holidays should be!!

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Eve

My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, but Christmas Eve is a close second. I love the anticipation that comes with this night. I love the traditions that we've always had. Pajamas are given because both Dustin and I got a new pair every Christmas Eve. We also give  a birthday gift to Jesus. We all write down something we can give him. It comes from a littel poem I would read in a children's book at a very young age. It was one of my favorite books to read. I wonder if by chance my mom still has it?

"What Can I Give Him?"

What can I give Him
Poor as I am
If I were a shepherd,
I would bring Him a Lamb
If I were a wise man,
I'd sure do my part
So what can I give Him?
I'll give Him my heart

We then gather our gifts and put them under the tree. It is usually a gift of changing something for the better in our lives. We can't give Him treasures of the earth, but definitely treasures of the heart!

French Braid

I crossed something off my Bucket List today. Here's what french braiding taught me: 

I always started out fine. But in the middle of the task, it looked pretty crappy! Before, I've always given up. This time, I kept at it, and kept going, even though I had strands of hair everywhere, not sure they were going in the right place. I realized I was quitting way too soon! Moral: Even if you think you're doing crappy, just keep going! The results are probably going to be better than you think. 

Wish List

Britten has been leaving me notes for things he'd like for Christmas. They're the best!! They mostly appear after he's been sitting in his room in trouble...the irony. Doesn't he know Santa doesn't bring toys to kids who misbehave? ;)

This time he was wanting a Mine Craft Sword.

Other Christmas Fun

December is the time we celebrate the birth of Our Savior, Jesus Christ. It's definitley a time of year where you can feel the brotherly love and peace that cpmes with the season. Our little communuity has a little spot that is a designated church history site. The Benson Grist Mill was operated by members of our church. It has been restored and in the summer is open for tours. The Tooele Valley is still quite rural. I love it! They still do "small town" things. They had a live nativity at the Grist Mill, so we decided to go check it out. 

Real animals! Free hot chocolate! Christmas Music sung in the background! Very festive, and a good adventure to break up the hutls and bustle.

We also had a nativity at the Merritt Annual Christmas Party. We ate dinner and played Minute To Win It games too. Nothing funner than family fun!! Except when you lose a game (last picture). It's hard to be 5!

 Grandpa Merrit was here because Grandma Merritt had a stroke.

She's reciving and on the mend!