Katie Jane says that our Christmas vacation was "interesting". Will had to take a minute to think about it. I'm having a hard time thinking of how to describe our Christmas too.
I think some changes are in the future for our family and what we do at Christmas - for my little family's sake. For one, we won't be spending near the amount of time in our car as we have in the past. Going back and forth and back and forth and back and forth (get the idea?) from one family house to another, and back. No offense to family, but I think one gathering in December is quite sufficient. My nerves can only stand so many get-
togethers with 20+ kids and almost as many adults...times 2 because the craziness is on both sides of the family. Poor Willie became an orphan dog for over 2 weeks because we were gone all day, almost every day. I craved to be home...doing nothing...not talking...not eating e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g....cozy under my electric blanket.
I feel like I'm sure to be cast out of both sides of the family...I think I'm going through the January blahs or post Christmas blues or something.
Of course, it was wonderful in many ways. I'm really going to miss the soft glow of Christmas lights 24/7. The music, the cards and family pictures from friends and family, the smells - my fave is the Mulling Spices from Williams-
Sonoma...
mmmm, and the excitement of my kids when they figure out how awesome it feels to GIVE. This year I played more of the religious Christmas music and I think that strengthened my testimony of the birth of our Savior more than anything. Beautiful, inspired music is so wonderful!
the above pics were taken with my new-awesome camera! Can you tell?
One
of my favorite things about this time of year is decorating. Not that I could ever compete with the way my Grandma Jane decorated, but I love to decorate in this house. When I was little, maybe until I was about 5
ish, the entire "Strong" family would have Christmas morning in the same living room that me and my family have Christmas morning in now.
I'm telling you...there's a great spirit in our home! How could there not be?
We're to the stage where we can make the kids wait until at least 7:00 a.m. before starting the craziness. Even then, by the time they drag me and Will out of bed, it's almost 8:00. Santa did a great job, ahem. But none of it was captured on film...at least in still pics that is. We videoed the morning events, but things got busy and I got an amazing gift from Will and the camera got turned off. Will got something that I think I'm going to enjoy using too. A
TRX Suspension Trainer . I did 30 seconds of a plank and 4, four, FOUR oblique crunches more than a week ago, and I still have to curl into a ball to cough or sneeze! AWESOME workout! Will's team had one in Afghanistan that they hung in a tree and that's what he worked out on when they were "out in the field". When he told me he was doing push-ups from a handstand position, I knew he was in awesome shape.
Then, my
sneaky, thoughtful man got me the gift that will keep me away from him late into the nights as I edit pictures and practice photo-
skilz! I love it! I'm excited to see all that it can do, and also to see what I can do with it. I just want to take awesome pictures of my kids. Ones that they will look at and love forever. Good ones. Quality ones. That's my goal. Oh, and he gave me a "
Fauxlex" from Korea...a Rolex watch. I have no idea if it's real or not. He still paid quite a bit for it, but...it says Rolex on the face and has the little crown...so it's real to me! I've gotten some awesome jewelry from Will through the years! I guess he likes me to have
Bling!
The kids, again, got spoiled. From
ipods,
DS/
XBox games/coats/snow pants/ boots/ doll clothes/ and the gift to end all gifts for Jay and Katie Jane...they got mine and Will's old - and I mean OLD - cell phones with their own numbers and unlimited
texting...which, as of today, in less than 2 weeks time, Katie Jane has
texted/and
received over 2,400 texts.
Praise unlimited
texting!
My Culinary King!!!
I think I was planted firmly on my behind reading the operator manual for my new camera...waiting for the battery to charge, and Will was slaving away in the kitchen making the Christmas brunch quiche, which BTW was
DEEEE-
licious! Will seems to work better when his tongue is sticking out. An absolute must when concentration is needed!
Actually, remembering back right now, I wasn't reading my camera manual the whole morning, I think I was trying to bring some order to the chaos that was all around us from Christmas morning. And steeling the kids candy out of their stockings. Santa failed in the candy department this year...for sure!
The family got a
Wii for Christmas...along with every other person/relative/stranger that I know. So I won't go on and on about how we went bowling and played tennis, and golfed and improved our archery skills over Christmas break, because just about everyone else did the same thing...on their
Wii!
It was great to see the kids surprise when they opened a
Wii remote. They couldn't believe it! I'm getting soft in my old age I guess. Throughout my adult life and not too many years ago, I was known to say that I would NEVER drive a station wagon (I think I've held true to that promise...unless a minivan is a glorified station wagon...and then I'm guilty...but not anymore!) and that I would NEVER allow video games into my house.
We have an X-Box 360 AND a
Wii now.
Sometimes entertainment wins the battle...so much for that promise!
Emma in her nightgown from Grandma S. with her AG doll, also named Emma, in her
jammies too. This pic was obviously taken with my old, not-so-well-loved camera, because my new very-much-loved camera was getting it's battery charged.
After a short morning of making Mii's, we headed up to grandma and Grumpa S's for brunch. My family is so much fun. When we can hear each other talk over all the kids, we have so much fun visiting and reminiscing and playing games. Then the effects/affects - I always forget which one to use and it's too late to figure it out - of not a lot of sleep and a very full tummy kicked in and all I wanted was to be in my bed. In quiet!
Kristy, Lezlee, mom (holding her China made in Korea from Will - modeled after a "Royar pattern" from England as it was marked on the back...get it? (Fa-ra-ra-ra-ra), Jill, Holly, me and Janette - Beckie MIA.Happy Birthday, MOM!!! She spends EVERY birthday cooking for everyone else and always getting one gift for both her birthday AND Christmas.
My baby sis made all us gals aprons for Christmas...or what
Lezlee called, optional lingerie! The way I looked on Christmas morning...it's an apron. Holly is so talented and so generous.
It turned out to be a great day...one that I hate to see come and go so fast. I'm thankful that I had my family to enjoy it with. There were so many times that I heard the song "I'll be home for Christmas" and I would cry and remember a year ago listening to that song and other being-away-from-loved-ones-at-Christmas time songs and crying much harder and wishing to have Will home...which we all know, I got my wish!
So I guess if I had to describe our Christmas this year, it would be...a busy, chaotic time that was joyous. We celebrated the birth of our Savior, the greatest Man that ever lived or will live. We felt the joy of giving and enjoyed being around each other as much as a teen/tweens/and a 7 year old can. We also mourned the loss of our dear sweet neighbor, Jon Jensen. It was his birthday on the 25th also and he almost made it to 91...just 2 days short. It had been a while since I had a sobbing breakdown - which I did almost everyday while Will was gone - but when I heard our dear, sweet, boxed milk and tootsie pop bringing neighbor had died, and I know this is going to sound weird, but I was so filled with the Spirit and I had my testimony strengthened about eternal families and the Plan of Salvation.
And in the end...THAT was the greatest gift I got this CHRISTmas.