Christmas morning we were driving to Mama and Papa Great’s house for breakfast. We had had a great morning and we were all happy and excited to get there. Jackson was telling us about some things and then randomly announced, “Hey mom and dad, I can talk girl!” then in a high pitched voice he said, “See, I can talk girl.” He’s got skills.

Every year our family, like many others, reenacts the Christmas story. This year Lacey and Jackson were Mary and Joseph. I was a little nervous… not for Jackson, I knew he understood the story and knew to be respectful,  but Lacey was having a rough night, and I was having a hard time getting her to be kind and calm. As I helped Lacey get dressed to play Mary I reminded her that this story is about Jesus and she needed to act reverently because it’s such a special story to us and we love Jesus. We’ve talked a lot about baby Jesus in family home evening and many many other times, so I hoped things would go well.  Have you ever seen or read “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”? We aren’t exactly the Herdman’s (at least I don’t think we are), but I couldn’t help but think of that story as I watched what happened next:

We had an awesome Christmas. I keep getting this overwhelming feeling of gratitude for my children, our family, the gospel, and for so many comforts that we enjoy! Christmas eve was another one of those nights, as I prepared and set things out and then stood back to look at everything to make sure it looked how I wanted it, I felt it again. I walked around our warm, comfortable home and looked at all the decorations –  the ornaments from the kids on the tree, the nativity on the shelf,  the baby Jesus lying in the manger…

I hope that I have shared my testimony enough with my children about our Savior. I hope that they know the great love and gratitude I feel for Him and the love that Christ has for them. I hope they truly know the reason we celebrate. I love this time of year.

Christmas morning is great for the kids, but even greater for the parents! Jackson and Lacey and Rachelle didn’t really know what to expect again this year. They didn’t realize that gifts would be laid out in the living room just for them. They knew they would get some presents but they weren’t quite sure how or where or when. It really is a great thing for a parent when there are no expectations. Micah was trying to get the kids to understand and be excited for Christmas morning, so he told them that Santa was kind of like the shoe fairy (the shoe fairy comes to our house when we have a babysitter. If the kids were good for the babysitter, the shoe fairy leaves a little treat in each child’s shoes that are left outside their bedroom door). So when Lacey woke up about 7:30 Christmas morning, she looked outside her door and no treat was there. She cried and cried! She didn’t understand, but everything was cleared up quickly when we took her and the others into the living room:

It was so fun to watch their happy faces of excitement and wonder! Christmas morning is magical!

That afternoon we left to go to the cabin. There wasn’t much snow still on the ground, but enough for these little guys! They loved it and as usual had a great time playing hard at the cabin!