A Little Christmas

"For we need a little Christmas,

Right this very minute...

We need a little Christ-mas, Now!"

Christmas morning this year was so magical. The kids were so excited to wake up and open some gifts. We had a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of laughter and family time. I know that my sweetheart was so tired, but he really was a trooper for the kids. We had just enough time to open a few gifts at our house before heading to do Christmas with the McClures and the Richardsons. On the 26th we finished opening our gifts at home. It was like an eternal Christmas Morning!

Opening the stockings... Jenna loves anything yellow - even a toothbrush.

Hyrum got cars and trucks and balls. He is such a boy. He LOVES all of them and walked around all day saying, "Vrrrmmmm, vrrrmmmm" (even with toys that are not cars...)

Jadyn was excited about every single gift. She "oohhed and awwwed" with every present, gave big hugs and loved every little thing she was given. Christmas this year was so much more magical. Jadyn spent a lot of time choosing the gifts she gave each member of the family and wrapping them herself.

Sweet little Jenna loved getting big girl toys like her sister. She and Jadyn got a lot of the same gifts and they have been playing ever since.

Christmas was a treat this year. It was so nice to have Jared around. He has been gone so much. Family Traditions are really important to me. He didn't disappoint. Even on almost no sleep, Jared made it a point to make Christmas a memorable holiday.

More importantly, Christmas is a Holy Day. I am so thankful for the birth and life of our Savior. I love that we can give one another gifts and remember what it means to care for one another. As my little children opened the gifts that were carefully chosen for them this year, I saw the excitement and joy in their faces. I felt so grateful that we had the ability to give them those few things that they wanted and that our extended family stepped up and gave generously to our kids as well. I can't thank everyone enough. My heart was very full of thanksgiving this year. Merry Christmas!

Christmas PJs 2008

Since Christmas Eve was kinda crazy, we put off taking our PJ photos until the following Sunday. Jared was able to be there, but we were still missing BJ. My camera was not doing too well with the low light, but this is what I managed to get. I really loved the PJs this year. The boys all looked so good and Grinchy. The little girls loved being Tinker Bell Fairies. Hyrum and Tytan looked awesome as Little Cars, and all of the Moms looked good in festive jammies. It was great. Thanks, Nana and Papa!

The girls had been playing Leap Frog. It was fun to watch them jump over each other. Once Papa joined in the fun, it was hilarious! Even if they helped, jumped, and pushed, it was still pretty tricky to jump over Papa.

"Cuddly as a cactus" or "Charming as an Eel" don't apply to these Grinchy Guys!

Father and son... how sweet! I am so glad that Hyrum has such a wonderful example as his father.

Big and small...all of the boys in the family (minus BJ who was absent and Elder Chas in Canada). You are so good lookin'!

The Photoshop version of the family photo. Since I was taking the pictures, I had to add myself in after the fact. Don't look too closely. I am getting better at Photoshop, but I have a long way to go.

All of the Grand Kids with Nana and Papa. Aren't they precious? I love the mix of red and green. Adorable!

I know that this is post holiday posting, but I love Christmas. Getting PJs on Christmas Eve is one of my favorite traditions. It sure makes for great photos!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve the McClure Family all gets dressed up for a nice Holiday Dinner. Nana gave the girls beautiful matching dresses to wear. After dinner we spend time as a family, open our PJs, get dressed and take photos, pile into the truck and go Christmas Caroling. Our schedule was a little different because we were able to call Elder Chas McClure after dinner, but here are some of the highlights of the evening:

Jenna was being a stinker and kept pretending she was asleep. Here are my adorable munchkins all dressed up for dinner.

Here are the 4 little girls all dressed up. They look so sweet!

Addison kept hugging and kissing Hyrum. He was OK for awhile and then he had enough with all the smooching.

I was in charge of the yummy stuff! I brought Oreo Truffles, Costco Cream Puffs, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies, White Fudge with Oreos, Cherry Chocolate Cake, and my Toffee. Mmmmmm... I tend to bake when I am trying not to worry about other things. Since I was worried that Jared wouldn't make it to dinner, I kept making more and more sweets.

Tytan looking all cute!

Dinner time! Jenna and Razzie were so excited to sit together at a special table.

John and Jadyn enjoying the ham, potatoes, and every good thing.

The Phone Call... We all got to chat with Chas for a bit. He is doing well and loving the snow in Canada! (well, maybe not loving it...)

Opening our Christmas PJs. The girls are old enough to really enjoy this tradition.

Hyrum and Tytan - the cutest little Cars ever!

I kept trying to get all of the girls for a photo. It was late and they were not too cooperative. Josh jumped in and we at least got all of our little Tinker Bells in one shot!

My theme for the last days before Christmas was, "Come what may and love it." It was hard - Jared worked so many hours and couldn't participate in any of our family traditions. I kept telling myself that I would still be happy - no matter what. It was not an easy thing to do - mostly because I missed my sweetheart so much, but I was able to stay happy. He did an amazing job finishing up all of the work.

I took these next few photos at 11:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve when we stopped at Daddy's office to deliver some dinner and his Christmas PJ's.

When Jared arrived home just before 6 a.m. Christmas morning (after working almost 3 days without sleep - on top of months with less than 5 hours a night) this is what he saw... Santa had already been to our house. He had eaten the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies that Jadyn left out (with her adorable note) and Christmas was all ready.

I missed my hubby on Christmas Eve. I know that he wanted to be with us more than anything. We still tried to make the most of the occasion.

Temple Lights on a Cold Night

We went to go see the Temple Lights on one of the coldest nights in December. Hyrum got to stay snuggled at Grandma's house and Jared and I took the girls. It was a wonderful experience. We had to warm up in the visitors center where we listened to a presentation on Christ and saw Nativity scenes from around the world.



Star of wonder, star of light... Jadyn told us that the star helped lead the wise men to the baby Jesus and we should follow the star, too. She is pretty wise for only being 4 years old.

I loved this shot of the temple. It is so bright and beautiful. I really enjoyed taking my girls to see the lights, talk about Christ, and enjoy a special holiday tradition.

After the temple we drove around looking for a place to get good hot chocolate. We settled on Starbucks and got some funny looks when we walked in with 2 little girls in PJs. The carmel apple drink was so yummy and the girls enjoyed their hot chocolate (after a few ice cubes were added). I was so glad that Jared made the time to go to the temple with us.

The Nativity

Acting out the Nativity as the scriptures are read is a wonderful family tradition. Jadyn was so excited this year to participate that she spent the week before assigning and reassigning parts to everyone. She always wanted to be the angel (because the angel had a great speaking part) and she was really funny as she decided what everyone else could be.

The night finally arrived and she and Jenna were angels. Don't they look beautiful?


The Greats were Mary and Joseph. The Jareds' and Hyrum were wisemen. I ended up being a shepard and Grandma was a great sport as one of the sheep. Grandpa filmed and Jared narrated. It was a memorable night.

As Christmas (and the entire month of December) are filled with all other Holiday Traditions, food, parties, gifts, etc., it was nice to take some time to reflect on the first Christmas and the birth of our Savior. Thanks family for making this a tradition!

Trains with Papa

Papa took Jadyn, Jenna, and Razzie on a trip to see some model trains. From what I can see from the photos, it is pretty incredible. The girls had a lot of fun and really liked the little trains and villages that were "the perfect size for my princess friends" according to Jadyn. Papa was great and snapped photos since I wasn't there. Here are a few favorites.

The girls after walking around looking at the trains.

After they looked at trains, Papa took the girls out for ice cream! Evidently Jenna tried to eat her entire cone in one bite and got a big brain freeze. Sounds like her....

Thanks, Papa, for taking the girls out to see something different. (and giving me some time to grab a few things without the girls...) The girls told me about the trains that were small. Jenna told me,

"I couldn't ride on it (the train) because it would break. I am toooo bigger for the train, Papa told me. But I could see them and they went too fast like a choo-choo."

Too bad you could ride, Sweetie. I know that you like trains, but what a fun place to go!

Jadyn's Lucky Day

The day finally arrived for Jadyn's Preschool Christmas Program. The countdown started over a month ago. Jadyn LOVES to sing and she was so excited for the program. She didn't even want to go to sleep the night before. It was almost as intense as waiting for Christmas Morning!


I wish I could explain just how much work goes into putting on the program and all of the projects that the kids take home on program day. Gail does amazing things. AMAZING. From the t-shirts with their hands and footprint, to the gingerbread houses and a box full of gifts and goodies, the kids go home with some great memories.

As to the program, well... I'll have to show you. Gail has hats, bells, shakers, etc. for all of the songs. Everything is special. Everything is so cute to watch. The kids do a great job. Jadyn knew every word and every action to every song. It was so much fun to watch her! So, here are some program photos:

Watch them "Deck the Hall" with cute candy canes!

Felize Navidad! I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas!

Look at these adorable Reindeer!

Down through the chimney comes good St. Nick!

Jingle Bells - I love it when they drive the sleigh to the left and to the right.

Did I mention that they also got to see Santa? Here is one of my favorites... Jadyn, Jenna and Razzie all hanging out with Santa.

After we finished the program and helped with the clean-up. Again, I just have to say "Thanks!" to my amazing Mother-in-law. It was a fun program!

Next we went to McDonalds to play. It was a cold and rainy day, so I was pretty suprised that Jadyn wanted a Hot Fudge Sundae, but hey, it was her special day.

Shrek was playing at McDonalds, so after we braved the cold rain and made it home, we threw our schedule out of the window and had a Shrek Marathon. The kids all had blankets and snuggled on the couch. We ate popcorn and drank hot chocolate. Jenna and Hyrum took turns falling asleep on my lap. It was a great way to spend a rainy afternoon!

When it was time for bed, Jadyn asked if she could call Daddy and tell him about her "Lucky Day". I had to ask why today was today a lucky day? This was her excited response...

"Mom, today was my PROGRAM! I got to sing and do my part. I loved it. Then I saw Santa and sat on his lap. That was so cool. Then we went to McDonalds because it was so cold and I got to play with new friends. I ate a Hot Fudge Sundae and then we came home and watched movies and had fun ALL day. Today was MY LUCKY DAY!"

Of course we called Daddy to tell him all about it. Great Job, Jadyn! I am glad you had such a lucky day!