All is merry and bright

Save a quick trip to the grocery store and an outing to drop off the last of our Christmas gifts to family, we are all ready for Christmas here! And boy are we excited!

The older our kids get, the more magical Christmas becomes again. Elena is full-on excited out of her mind and completely caught up in Christmas magic. She said to me "The day after tomorrow is Christmas Eve!!!" no less than five times yesterday. And the first thing out of her mouth this morning was, "Tomorrow's Christmas Eve!!" She and Lily have both been surprisingly good with the presents under the tree this year - pretty much just looking at them from a distance and talking excitedly about them. But this week, I think the anticipation is getting to them. :) The last few days I've often looked up from something I'm doing in the kitchen and found the two of them carefully kneeling in front of the presents, picking one up, passing it back and forth, and examining it with sparkling eyes. My favorite phrase these days is, "Mom! This one spells me!" -after Elena reads a gift tag on a present for her. The whole scene is just so endearing and makes my heart very, very happy! I'm SO grateful we're able to be home this Christmas! Thank you for your prayers for our family- they have helped so much. I am amazed at how mindful the Lord is of us hundreds of little ways each day. We are doing so well right now and it is a wonderful break from the stress of a few weeks ago.

Some of our Christmas cheer - including our two new Christmas tree ornaments from our MAW trip last year. I had forgotten that we even had those ornaments and it was so fun to pull them out and relive some of the memories as we decorated the tree.

Elena and Lily got to decorate their very own little tree for their room. It was a tradition that my sister and I had all growing up and we LOVED it. I was so thrilled to be able to start it for my girls this year.

Charlie the Elf (Santa's helper to watch Elena and Lily and see if they've been good) has been up to all sorts of antics this year. He's kept us all laughing. :)

This last weekend we tackled our Christmas goodie plate baking. Mint sticks and spritz cookies and peppermint popcorn - yum!!

And tonight marks the official start of our Christmas celebrating - so we'll be checking out for a while to enjoy our time together. We've been anxiously awaiting it as Eric's been busier than ever working at his internship and plugging away at his thesis which is quickly coming due. We haven't seen him much recently and we're excited for a break!! (I forget that with the excitement of graduation in one more semester also comes writing, finishing, defending, and submitting his thesis! Oh my. :))

A most Merry Christmas to you all! We love you and are so grateful for your friendship, love, and support.

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I read a wonderful Christmas message this morning: Christmas Gifts, Christmas Blessings by Thomas S. Monson - I'll leave you with some great excerpts from it (emphasis added):

“What did you get for Christmas?” This is the universal question among children for days following that most celebrated holiday of the year. A small girl might reply, “I received a doll, a new dress, and a fun game.” A boy might respond, “I received a pocketknife, a train, and a truck with lights.” Newly acquired possessions are displayed and admired as Christmas day dawns, then departs.

The gifts so acquired are fleeting. Dolls break, dresses wear out, and fun games become boring. Pocketknives are lost, trains do nothing but go in circles, and trucks are abandoned when the batteries that power them dim and die.

If we change but one word in our Christmas question, the outcome is vastly different. “What did you give for Christmas?” prompts stimulating thought and causes tender feelings to well up and memory’s fires to glow ever brighter.

Giving, not getting, brings to full bloom the Christmas spirit. Enemies are forgiven, friends remembered, and God obeyed. The spirit of Christmas illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world’s busy life and become more interested in people than things.

What can I give Him,

Poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd

I would bring a lamb.

If I were a Wise Man

I would do my part,

Yet what can I give Him?

Give my heart.

(Christina Georgina Rossetti)...

...Times change, years speed by; but Christmas continues sacred. It is through giving, rather than getting, that the spirit of Christ enters our lives. God still speaks. He prompts. He guides. He blesses. He gives.

Many years ago, President Harold B. Lee recounted to me an experience of a President Ballantyne who grew up in Star Valley, Wyoming. This is harsh country. The summers are short and fleeting, while the winters linger and chill. President Ballantyne told of a special Christmas season from his boyhood days. He said:

“Father had a large family; and sometimes after we had our harvest, there was not much left after expenses were paid. So Father would have to go away and hire out to some of the big ranchers for maybe a dollar a day. He earned little more than enough to take care of himself, with very little to send home to Mother and the children. Things began to get pretty skimpy for us.

“We had our family prayers around the table; and it was on one such night when Father was gone that we gathered and Mother poured out of a pitcher, into the glass of each one, milk divided among the children—but none for herself. And I, sensing that the milk in the pitcher was all that we had, pushed mine over to Mother and said, ‘Here, Mother. You drink mine.’

“‘No, Mother is not hungry tonight.’

“It worried me. We drank our milk and went to bed, but I could not sleep. I got up and tiptoed down the stairs, and there was Mother, in the middle of the floor, kneeling in prayer. She did not hear me as I came down in my bare feet, and I dropped to my knees and heard her say, ‘Heavenly Father, there is no food in our house. Please, Father, touch the heart of somebody so that my children will not be hungry in the morning.’

“When she finished her prayer, she looked around and saw that I had heard; and she said to me, somewhat embarrassed, ‘Now, you run along, son. Everything will be all right.’

“I went to bed, assured by Mother’s faith. The next morning, I was awakened by the sounds of pots and pans in the kitchen and the aroma of cooking food. I went down to the kitchen, and I said, ‘Mother, I thought you said there was no food.’

“All she said to me was, ‘Well, my boy, didn’t you think the Lord would answer my prayer?’ I received no further explanation than that.

“Years passed, and I went away to college. I got married, and I returned to see the old folks. Bishop Gardner, now reaching up to a ripe age, said to me, ‘My son, let me tell you of a Christmas experience that I had with your family. I had finished my chores, and we had had supper. I was sitting by the fireplace reading the newspaper. Suddenly, I heard a voice that said, “Sister Ballantyne doesn’t have any food in her house.” I thought it was my wife speaking and said, “What did you say, Mother?” She came in wiping her hands on her apron and said, “Did you call me, Father?”

“‘“No, I didn’t say anything to you, but I heard a voice which spoke to me.”

“‘“What did it say?” she asked.

“‘“It said that Sister Ballantyne didn’t have any food in her house.”

“‘“Well, then,” said Mother, “you had better put on your shoes and your coat and take some food to Sister Ballantyne.” In the dark of that winter’s night, I harnessed the team and placed in the wagon bed a sack of flour, a quarter section of beef, some bottled fruit, and loaves of newly baked bread. The weather was cold, but a warm glow filled my soul as your mother welcomed me and I presented her with the food. God had heard a mother’s prayer.’”

Heavenly Father is ever mindful of those who need, who seek, who trust, who pray, and who listen when He speaks. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). God’s gift becomes our blessing. May every heart open wide and welcome Him—Christmas day and always.