Christmas 2010

I really thought that if I let Lauren and Evan stay up late that they would get up late on Christmas day...yeah, no such luck. Evan came into our bedroom at 6 in the morning, his little head just poking up over the bed. In a tiny voice he said "Hey Mommy, is it Christmas time yet?" Lauren soon followed by waking up at 7, but I made them stay in bed (mean mom) until at least 8. Oh were they excited to dig in to the big pile of gifts at the foot of our tree. So excited! They didn't like my suggestion that we eat breakfast first. Once "A Christmas Story" was safely playing on TV and Chad had found his little nook in the couch, we were ready. Let the Mayhem begin!








This year was so much fun for me. Chad and I don't generally get each other anything for Christmas, so it was all about Lauren and Evan. And it was the first time since Lauren was a baby that Chad and I were about to buy Christmas ourselves. I know I keep saying that, but it is kind of a big deal for me. I got to get my kids there Christmas!! It was an exciting thing for me as a mom. Lauren and Evan both agree that their favorite gifts are their pillow pets. They loved them! Evan also love his view finder that I got them on a whim, who knew? He calls it his "looking thingy". Lauren has loves her barbie dolls, she got three! The Barbie from Toy Story 3, the fairy Rosetta, and a Tangled doll for my dad. She has been playing with them ever since.

Lauren's gifts

Evan's gifts

And their shared gifts.

In less then an hour, all the months of planing and deal searching had come to an end, and both Lauren and Evan were busy playing with their new play dough, which is a big hit. They love it, Mommy doesn't really like the clean up so much. Thank goodness for wood floors! Here is some shots of the aftermath, the pure destruction, and all that delightful mess was after I had worked hard to clean up all the wrapping paper as they went. I had already filled up two garbage bags full before I gave up.





I have a theory. The bigger the mess, the more fun the Christmas. So as you can plainly tell, we had a blast! But after all was said and done, we had about an hour to get ourselves cleaned up (the house would have to wait) so that we could have Christmas lunch at my Dad's house in Farr West. I am so grateful for my Dad. He knows, better then most, all my little hurts. He has been there for me my whole life, and it is nice to know that he always will be. Everyone needs someone who will love them no matter what. He is more then just a dad, he is a daddy. The first thing the kids wanted to do when they got to Grandpa and Grandma's house was open their presents.



Lauren got the dolls from the movie Tangled. She loves it!




And Evan got a big Woody doll. You can pull his string and he talks.."Theres a snake in my boots.." Evan loves it. He has been sleeping with it every night since Christmas.

I really have been blessed. Sometimes I get feeling down about things, but my dad is awesome and he married a real sweet girl with real sweet girls of her own. My step sisters Samantha and Serina are awesome. They love my kids and they are so much fun to be around. Sometimes, we need to learn to look at all we have and not worry so much about things that are out of our control. We need to stop wishing for things that might not happen and embrace all the little moments of wonderful around us.

(at the top: Rita, Lauren, and my dad. Middle: Sam, Evan, and Me. Bottom: Serina, and Chad). You think that with all of that, we would be done for the day. But we weren't. We had one more family party to get to, and it was a drive. Chad's sister Kari just had a new house built in Herriman, so we all drove out there to see it and our family too.




Kari is due two days before me. Isn't she a cute pregnant girl? It has been so fun for me to be pregnant at the same time as her.

Lauren and her newest cousin Ella. Ella is the first girl since Lauren was born. There are six baby boys born in between. Chad's family is an other area where I have been blessed. They are so good to me and are always there for me. Even when Chad and I were having our difficult growing pains, they still showed me love and support and would listen if I called crying. I guess that is what family does for each other though, isn't it.

(R-L: Billy, Kari, Ryan, Shari, Chad, and Traci..and Mom Nancy up in front.)

It was a Christmas full of different highs and lows. Lessons learned, tears shed, and family found. I hope that everyone has had someone to love them this season. Because the gift of true family is the best gift to be given or received. Merry Christmas to all my friends and family.