Christmas 2012 in Review

 This new header is a picture of the gift that Ben brought home from school for his family.
It was perfect!  All I had to do was add the word "Sampler".


We had one more Christmas party to attend...

My mom's side of the family gathers every year.  It's getting to be quite large including my grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins and their children.  It's always a highlight of the season though.  It's an evening filled with a talent show, a meal, a nativity, and a gift exchange.

Christmas Eve found me with so much to do and not enough time.  I woke up early and tried to be very efficient.  I wrapped, I crafted, I baked and shopped (groceries) and enjoyed the several inches of snow that fell that day.
My emotions were a little bit ragged by evening so it was nice to have a break and go to Mom and Dad's house for dinner.  Mom made the boys quilts this year for their gifts and they all loved them.  Josh and Matt's are Star Wars and Ben's is a train quilt.  So fun!  Mom had already made Abby a couple of quilts recently so she got some doll clothes...perfect.
The boys enjoyed snuggling up in their new quilts to await Santa's arrival. 

Andy and I were up until 2 a.m. getting everything finished.  Since our plans were to leave town the next day we spent quite a bit of time on getting Ben's meds and supplements crushed and packaged and butter weighed for meals/snacks.  Thankfully, I had already made all 18 meals during the previous week and frozen them...I tell you...this keto diet...I'm going to use a strong word here, but I hate it!  However, I love what it does for Ben.  The seizure reduction is truly miraculous.  So we continue :)

I had told Josh before he went to bed to not get up too early...6:30 at the earliest. 
Now, I know I'm a grown woman but I still have a hard time sleeping through the night on Christmas Eve.  I was tired enough when I dropped into bed that I fell asleep pretty quickly but I remember waking up several times throughout the night.  One time I woke up and realized it was light outside and I hadn't heard a thing from the kids.  I looked at the clock and saw that it was 7:45!  I knew they had to be awake...why hadn't they sounded the Christmas morning alarm?  I went out to the living room and found Josh...anxious but quiet and patient.  I asked him why he hadn't woken us up.  He said he thought I had told him he couldn't get out of his bed until 6:30 and to not wake us up...to wait until we woke up on our own.  Oh bless his heart!  He'd been awake for at least an hour and a half...just waiting.  Abby and Matt were excitedly waiting too.

sorry about the poor lighting

Josh whispered in my ear before we started unwrapping that he had prayed that morning and asked Heavenly Father to thank Santa for all the gifts he had brought.
I love that guy :)

Ben started out grumpy and didn't want anything to do with his gifts until we pulled out the laundry baskets (to keep everyone's gifts separated and safe).  He immediately climbed into his and stayed there until all was said and done.

Christmas morning was everything it should be...but shortly after, we found Josh laying on the couch and very subdued.
Background:
Andy was very sick 2 weeks ago.  Sore throat, fever, and chills...the doctor said it was probably bronchitis.
After he got better, Abby came home from delivering neighbor gifts and said she felt sick.  Sure enough, the next day she had a fever.  She was very disappointed to miss the last day of school before the break and the Christmas party.  About the same time Ben had 3 seizures in one day and ended up with a fever.
 I took those two to the doctor and he said it was just the bug going around and there was nothing he could do.

Fell asleep with Andy on the couch.

Matt started coughing 2 or 3 days before Christmas and had his round of it for the next few days.  Christmas day we were just happy that everyone seemed to be doing much better and we could enjoy the holiday.

Back to Josh:
When we found him on the couch we took his temperature.  Fever.  He spent almost the whole day there curled up in a ball and sleeping.  Poor guy.
Consequently, we postponed our trip to be with Andy's family.  It did make for a pleasant and calm Christmas day.  I had been super stressed about packing and leaving that afternoon so I have to be honest and say it was a relief...but I felt bad that I was so relieved.  Just having one more day was all I needed to feel like I could make the several day trip.  Well, I ended up having more than one day and I feel very relaxed about leaving tomorrow.  Josh feels great and now hopefully we're done with the bug.

Christmas night we played a new game I found in my stocking...Tenzi.
It's a very simple game, so simple you might think it sounds boring, but it's actually very fun.  The kids really enjoyed it and Josh was even able to join us from his position on the couch.

After the kids went to bed I made a gingerbread shake for myself and Andy and I played Stone Age while we watched Muppet Christmas Carol.  We hadn't played that game in ages because it's so long...but I love it and enjoy the intense strategy scheming.

We are so blessed and it's times like these that I notice it most.
I love my family.
I love the gospel.
I love my Savior and am grateful for His birth, His life, His atonement and His resurrection. 

Merry Christmas Everyone!

p.s.  This was our Christmas card this year...