Christmas Wishes

I didn't send out cards this year. I'm not certain why since we took our family pictures in September and I had a sample made in November but it was just more effort than I could muster.

Do you recognize a theme here? It is amazing how far 3" scraps of paper can go.

Aren't they adorable? This is the very best shot we could get and Matt is tickling Jason and I'm tickling Braydon. I had no idea how upset they would be to have to put their church clothes on first thing Saturday morning. Lesson learned.

I have enjoyed receiving cards this year. It does make me feel a little guilty about not sending mine out though.

Great-Grandma Allen sent us this one. I love it. It reminds me of my favorite nativity portrait.

This came from the December calendar that my sister gave me for my birthday last year. I want to get it framed. Tacky maybe, but cheap and I like that.

This one brought tears to my eyes. We are so thankful to Heavenly Father for allowing this sweet baby to survive a premature birth and to flourish here in this life. The Santa is a former NICU nurse and has been granting Christmas wishes for 20 years. He uses a new pair of gloves and blanket for each child. I'm sure he is holding his breath as well. Precious Mullenaux family.

Gena laughs that this is the best shot she could get of her fam as well. I think it is cute. After all families aren't perfect so why should we try so hard to make them appear as such? We were good buds in high school and it has been fun to have her live close and to have our kids grow up together. Her youngest son is in between David and Jason and her oldest daughter is the same age as Braydon. I was also honored to receive a plate of her homemade Oreo cookies. They brought back some good high school memories.

These taste even better than they look. Hard to believe, I know.

I can't believe how much these little girls have grown in a year. Rachel & I have been friends since age 5 maybe. She was one of my bridesmaids too.

Now this is a gorgeous family! Leigh is my VT companion and her husband is in scouts with Matt. Their oldest daughter is our new Saturday night babysitter. The boys go crazy when she comes over. I can't really blame them. Their youngest daughter sang "Picture a Christmas" in church and I just balled through the whole thing. She did a great job and had this angelic glow. It was hard to not be a little jealous.

VanHaren kids. Don't you just love her red shoes? So cute. They really are their mom's comfort and joy. Precious.

This one was unexpected and completely treasured. This is the Solomon family-Matt's aunt. They have really good genes/jeans in that bunch. We usually only see them a couple times a year so it will be fun to have a photo of them on the fridge.

My brother Dustin's little men. Someone asked if this could be considered child abuse. Ha Ha. The things we put our kids through.

I also received lots of fun gifts from some very special people. So happy about that.

Heather made these tiles for all of the Primary teachers. She is so talented. This may stay up all year.

The Peterson's made this wooden puzzle for us. Wow. Amazing. So grateful.

The Trouts went over and beyond again with gifts for all of us. I got this adorable towel. I couldn't come up with a place to hang it where I could enjoy it and the boys couldn't touch it so instead I hung it on the stove and threatened everyone. They also gave the boys a Horton Hears a Who movie and Matt (OK so I'm sure I have eaten more of it than him) a yummy pumpkin bread. We love our neighbors!

I'm sad I don't have picture of the yummy cake pops that Julia made. Braydon ate them before I had a chance. The goodies plate from the Beckmans didn't hold out long enough either. We weren't home when the Smith's tried to deliver a box of donuts from their bakery. Bummer.

I guess it really isn't any wonder why I gain so much weight over the holidays. I guess it is time to pick up running again.