Illuminating Luminaries

My granny got us started on luminaries. I'm not sure how or when, I just know that we've been doing them for almost as long as I can remember. My dad would spend a lot of time getting the sacks ready and then as kids we'd help fill them with sand, add a candle and set them along the driveway. We were usually doing it in freezing cold weather, often in snow.

We haven't done luminaries since moving to South Carolina, but we decided to do it this year. My dad had rolled about 100 bags while my parents were still in North Carolina and he left them, along with a ton of candles, with us. 

Normally we light them for Christmas Eve and then again on New Year's Eve. This year it was so rainy, that we couldn't do them until the 26th. It was much easier preparing the bags in nice weather rather than in snow.

Can you see David?

Unfortunately, we awoke to another rainstorm, so this year's luminary run was short lived.

And also our daddy ran over some of the bags.

Magical Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas. A pretty close to perfect Christmas. Santa was very generous with us. 

The kids woke up at about 5:45 a.m. (which is actually sleeping in for Jalen). We have a tradition that we did in my family when I was growing up. We kneel together as a family and offer a prayer before we go down to open the presents. The kids could barely contain their excitement.

They were overwhelmed at what they found under the tree. It took about an hour just to go through all the stockings and unwrapped presents from Santa.

Then we moved on to the wrapped gifts. We open them one at a time, with each child waiting for the other to open their present. It makes Christmas last longer and helps us appreciate each gift.

Jalen spent the morning pretty much looking like this.

He got everything he wanted, especially his Captain America costume.

Baylie never really wants anything specific and so it's hard to know what to get her. This year we focused more on clothes and crafts because she doesn't usually care much for toys. She said it was "much better than last year." Santa brought her this really awesome fairy that actually flies. It is so cool. 

This is what it looked like after the opening.

The most surprising gift was one given to me and David. Some anonymous person gave us an iPad mini! Like Baylie, as a child, I can't remember ever really wanting a present. I always liked whatever I got and never was crazy for any one thing. I honestly can't remember the last time I ever was so surprised over a gift that I felt giddy. The iPad was so completely unexpected and such a wonderful gift that I felt like a kid opening it. I can't believe the generosity of the person who not only gave us the mini, but also a case for it and a $50 gift card. We don't know who it was, but we know it was from our ward, maybe even from several people in our ward. I have never known such kind and generous people. I would love it if David found a job here and we could just stay here forever. I know that here people love my children, they look out for me and my family, they are family. My heart is filled with love.

Of course, the iPad mini has been taken over by the kids. Heck - we could probably give back all their other presents. (Not really, I suggested that and they refused.)

I have to confess that my favorite thing about the iPad is that now I have a good camera again! It's so much better than the pictures I take with my phone.

We spent the day playing the games and watching the movies we got for Christmas (another childhood tradition for me).

It was a beautiful, lazy day. It's been a wonderful month. I love my family. I love my Savior. I love my life.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

This has been the best December that I can remember in quite some time. I feel like we've done lots of things to make it a memorable holiday. I hope it is one the kids will remember. We have given and received much service. We have read Christmas stories every day. We have read scriptures that talk about the birth of Christ. We have had a lot of fun. I don't want it to be over yet.

On Christmas Eve eve, we went to see Annie. It hasn't received very good reviews, but we loved it. Baylie thinks she should star in the sequel. (I wasn't that wild about Cameron Diaz, but loved the rest of it.)

I spent most of yesterday and today in the kitchen. Tonight we had the missionaries over for Christmas Eve dinner. We had a TON of food. I made turkey (I brined it), stuffing (both in and outside of the bird), mashed potatoes, green bean casserole (a southern staple), cranberry salad (David's grandma's recipe), jello salad (the kind with cottage cheese), Lion House rolls,  carrots in brown sugar, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin cheesecake, and pear cobbler. I even made gravy (last time I forgot). I think overall it turned out well, but it never tastes as good as at my mom's house.

After dinner, we acted out the nativity. The elders had to leave so we were short on actors. It's hard to act out the nativity with only two actors.

Act 1: Baylie as Mary, Jalen as Joseph and David as the donkey.

Act 2: Baylie as the angel, Jalen and David as awed shepherds.

Act 3: David,  Baylie and Jalen as wisemen. I read about the wisemen bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh. Jalen leaned down to the doll playing the role of baby Jesus and said, "And cookies and ice cream, in case you're hungry."

We then had a short musical program, for which Baylie has been practicing for days and then the kids got to open a present. They opened their Christmas jammies. They were so excited about their jammies that I can't even imagine what it's going to be like tomorrow. My guess is that Baylie will want to keep things moving until all the presents are open and Jalen will want to stop and play with each toy he opens.

So here we are, the kids are sleeping and David is making them gifts. (Nothing like waiting until the last minute!) He's making a Peter Pan sword for Jalen and a jewelry peg board for Baylie.

I love my little family. I'm so grateful for this time of year with all the special feelings it brings. And I'm grateful for Jesus Christ whose life and atonement make this life worth living.

Overwhelmed

This is going to be a Christmas we will never forget. We have been blessed by so much kindness and selfless generosity. It's humbling and overwhelming. Never before have we received so much selfless service. 

Our ward (church group) always selects families that they can help with providing Christmas. They asked us if we needed help, but we told them we were fine. My parents always give us some money and we had received an anonymous donation that I posted about HERE. I am a bargain shopper and I start shopping early. Our tree is surrounded by presents.

We know that our kids will be excited and happy about their presents. They have a lot under the tree, and while none of it cost more than $10, it is enough for them to have a great Christmas.

So imagine our surprise when late tonight the doorbell rang and we discovered this...

Not just a token gift, but a plethora of amazing, wonderful, exciting presents. It's shocking and unbelievable. We have no idea who it is from, but we guess it has to be someone from our church. We feel a little guilty because we know there are people who have much less than us, but we are so excited that our kids will have an even better Christmas morning than we had planned.

Today was a rough day for us. We didn't get a job we had really hoped for. It was discouraging for all of us. To have our day end like this is a reminder that God knows we are here. He hasn't forgotten us. He loves us. Everything will work out fine.

Today my heart is full and I am so grateful.

Christmas Miracle

My husband, David, has an amazing voice. I don't just say that because I'm married to him. He often has people ask him if he has a CD available for purchase. For the past two years he has been asked to sing the solo part to "O, Holy Night" with our ward choir. It is one of my favorite performances. He does it so well and so powerfully and the spirit is so strong when he sings it. This Sunday's sacrament meeting was all music and David was supposed to sing this solo.

David has been struggling with a cough and a cold for several weeks. Yesterday morning his throat got so bad, he couldn't breathe and decided to go to Urgent Care. Turns out he has viral pharyngitis - his uvula is huge and dark red. He can't swallow without severe pain and it's hard to breathe. Because it's viral, there's nothing he can take for it, other than to help with pain. It lasts about 10 days.

This morning he wasn't sure he would be able to sing at all. It hurt to talk. He's never had to miss a performance because of health reasons and he didn't want today to be the first time. He asked some friends (the spouse and son of the choir director) to give him a priesthood blessing of health this morning. They blessed him that according to his faith, he would be able to have his desires granted.

We went to church still not knowing for sure how it would go. David decided not to sing any of the other choir numbers for fear his voice would give out before his solo, which was the last choir number on the program. He practiced the song once with the choir and then sang for the actual performance. His voice was perfect and the song was beautiful. There were tears in the congregation. Honestly, it was one of his best performances.

David went home right after sacrament meeting and slept until the kids and I got home. By the time we got home, he was even more sick and ended up throwing up by early evening. He is in so much pain and doesn't talk much at all. It is truly amazing that he was able to sing - and sing so well.

Many people would consider this a coincidence or brush it off as no big deal, but to us, this was truly a miracle. I think we are surrounded by miracles if we just recognize them for what they truly are - especially at this special time of year.

Nutcracker, Sweet!

I love Christmas traditions and one of my favorites is the annual daddy-daughter Nutcracker date, which Baylie has asked us to call a daddy-daughter adventure because she's grossed out to say she's going on a date with her dad.

I've been in the South too long - I had something monogrammed.

I hope that at some point, we can all go to the Nutcracker together, but I don't think Jalen is quite there yet. He and I went to see the penguins of Madagascar movie instead.

In the theater.

Family Photo Shoot

My cousin Christina is an amazing photographer. You can check out her work HERE. The past two years she has taken our family pictures. She is so generous with her time and talents and I am always so happy with the results. It is very unusual that I like photos with me in them, but I actually like the ones she takes. And the pictures she gets of my kids leave me speechless. I decided to go ahead and just post all of them here. Maybe one day David can tune a piano for her to try and pay her back.