Christmas Day!

Christmas morning finally dawned at about 7:00 am at our house. Danny got a phone call first thing in the morning, which was very odd. The first thought that Danny had was that someone in the ward had died. (The worries of a bishop!) But it turns out it was someone from work calling, and he spent the next 10 minutes trying to figure out if he needed to go in or not. While he was doing that, I was busy throwing up and being miserably pregnant. NOT our best start to a Christmas day!! The kids, bless their hearts, were very patient while I pulled myself together so we could head out and see if Santa had come.

And he had!! Boy did he ever! Sophie had a stocking full of goodies (including a Minky scarf, candy, nail polish, and lip gloss), a Lego set, a My Voice Diary, A KINDLE in a beautiful case, an Amazon gift card, and the "Sophie" Beanie Boo she has been searching everywhere for! Claire had a stocking very similar to Sophie's, a My Voice Diary, the Foxcraft book she asked for, the first 4 books of The Boxcar Children Series, A KINDLE IN A BEAUTIFUL CASE, and a gift card for apps! And Johnny? My goodness, Johnny had a stocking full of fun stuff (including a new BYU tie, joke book, candy, and assorted mini toys), a Star Wars look-and-find book, the Overdrive game he was DYING for, A KINDLE IN A BLUE CASE, and his own gift card. Allow me to reiterate that each child got their own tablet device! It was a Christmas miracle!! After years of asking for one, and Danny and I completely shutting down the idea of them EVER getting their own device, Santa came through! The kids were overjoyed. :) 

Once the kids had explored their Santa gifts, Daddy started handing out the presents from under the tree. There wasn't much this year, but the kids were anticipating that. They knew our BIG present this year was our trip to Southern California, and they were VERY excited about that. 

Danny started out with the sibling gifts, since the kids were so terribly excited to see each other open the gifts they picked. This year Johnny had Sophie, and he got her a bead set that they had seen on TV and he knew she would love it. He was right. :)

Sophie had Claire this year, and for once in the history of shopping with Sophie, she knew exactly what she wanted to get her sister. This is the year of "Shopkins" (the "pogs" of our  childrens' day), and Sophie got Claire the biggest set she could find that would also allow her to get a set of Shopkins chapsticks for her BFF. :)

And Claire had Johnny this year. Claire picked her present based on two qualifications: one, it needed to be Star Wars. And two, it needed to be something Johnny could do when he was on his own and bored. Which is, unfortunately, a lot of the time for Johnny. Claire found a Star Wars pinball game that Johnny just loved. And Danny and I just love seeing how much the kids enjoy getting gifts for each other. 

I got the family a present I passed in the mall right before Christmas...an "Arrow" puzzle! I had wanted to get "The Flash", but they were out. :( But this way we had a big puzzle to work on while we were at the resort. And Danny got me a whole new set of cookware!! I can't tell you how excited I was about that! We've had the same pots and pans since our wedding, and what has survived has been loved past recognition. Danny decided on my present the night we made alfredo sauce in my favorite and most often used pan and there were literally flakes of teflon in the sauce! Here's to teflon-less alfredo in our future! :) (And this year is officially the WORST Christmas morning picture I've ever taken. But I was feeling so terrible at this point!)

Danny got an assortment of fun presents from the kids and me this year. He got the next book in the series he's been reading during his late nights at work, a new giant crossword puzzle book to work on during his long hours in the lab, and (my favorite) his Top Gun t-shirt! He was a happy Daddy. :)

We decided to host a little Christmas morning breakfast at our house this year for the Grandparents, Great Grandmas, and the live-in aunts and uncles since we would be leaving that day and be gone for the rest of the week's festivities. While I started getting things out for breakfast, Danny and the kids do what they do best on Christmas morning...start playing with the toys!  Once Papa and Grandma showed up, Papa joined the fray. Johnny's Overdrive game proved to be quite the attraction!

We ended up having Great Grandma Lovell, Grandma, Papa, Aunt Katie, Grandma Candy, and Uncle Nick over for breakfast. And Danny and I have decided we have something of a tradition now for Christmas morning...Overnight Sausage Casserole, Overnight Sticky Buns, fresh fruit, and OJ. It. Was. Delicious.

We ate and visited for a while, and then exchanged gifts with Grandma and Papa. This year, we gave Grandma and Papa a photo book from the Roger Call Reunion, and it made Grandma cry. :) They gave each of the kids a piggy bank with a notice that a savings account had been opened at America First for each of them, and $50 deposited for each child! And for Danny and I, Mom and Dad decided to help us along our emergency preparedness journey by giving us a bunch of freeze-dried food and a portable toilet! Johnny determined it was a pretty good seat. :) We had so much fun with everyone, but it was quickly time for everyone to head to their next destination...and we needed to get packed! It wasn't until everyone left that I realized I never got a Christmas morning picture with Grandma and Papa. Oops.

We were due to be packed up, loaded, and at Grandma Candy's by 11:00 am. The plan was to see my family for a while, exchange presents with Grandma Candy, and then hit the road towards Vegas by around 1:00 pm. Yeah, that turned out to be a pipe dream. :) I was still really not feeling great, and the kids and Danny were very must distracted by all the presents. And rightfully so, it was Christmas morning! Looking back, Danny thinks maybe it wasn't the best idea to leave on the afternoon of Christmas. At any rate, I think we got to my Mom's around 12:30 pm. The kids were so excited to see their cousins and tell them all about their morning. Then it was time for more presents!! Grandma Candy does things a little differently, and it's kind of genius. She gets presents for the grandkids...but they stay at Grandma Candy's house so they have stuff to play with when they come over. This year, the older girls got a karaoke machine (a perfect stay-at-Grandma's present if you ask us!), the boys got Legos and Nerf guns, and the little girls got a new kitchen! The kids played and played (unfortunately some of the pictures turned out really dark). So much so that we didn't end up getting on the road until about 3:30 pm!

But we got on the road, and that's what was important. What a wonderful Christmas day we had, and we were so excited for the week that was ahead of us! This year, while we missed Luke like crazy, was SO much easier than last Christmas. And while I won't lie and say I don't feel a little bit guilty about that, I mostly feel like it's right that it felt better. I know that Luke is happy and anxiously engaged in the work that he's been called to do. And I know that he wants us to be happy while we're here. I feel confident that he's around during this special family times, and I don't want him to always see us moping around and missing him. Just some of the time. ;) 

We are so grateful for the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, for His earthly ministry and for His Atonement. It is because of Him that we have the hope we do, and that means everything to us. 

Merry Christmas!