I've been trying to figure out how to write this post, and still come off with a positive spin, so it doesn't sound like a big downer. After all, it's Christmas, right?
Well, why gloss over it? So we got hit with an icky stomach flu bug, a few days before Christmas. It started with Alyssa, moved to Emma, and then it moved quickly on to me, Darcie, and Todd, in quick succession. And nobody wants to know about how you were all sick, right?
So, let's just focus on the good stuff, right? For example, our two gorgeous teenagers, who are all smiles here at Grandpa & Grandma's house on Christmas Eve:
Alyssa is rockin' those platform red high heels! (Darcie is on tiptoe to try and not look so short next to her...... nice try, huh!)
Traditionally, in our family, every Christmas Eve, we go to the grandparents' house. We have a table full of snacks, sing songs (including, "What Do you Want for Christmas?"), and when the kids were all quite young, we started having them do a nativity play. It's something that Grandma would write and direct. It usually involved Grandpa reading from the New Testament, and the whole group singing carols.
I think the last time we did the play, was when Emma was just a baby (since I have a picture of Brandon playing Joseph, Alyssa playing Mary, and Emma was the Baby Jesus!). Since the other kids are all older now, we dropped the re-enactment, and just started reading the story in Luke.
Grandma felt that Emma ought to experience being in the nativity play, too, so this year, she organized it again. Here is Alyssa as the angel, who appeared to the shepherds (Emma's in the middle there)...
(I'm pretty sure that green bathrobe has been used off and on in the family nativity play since before Todd and I met!)
Here's Emma as the littlest shepherd. She absolutely loved dressing up, and everyone dressing up with her. Her eyes were shining during the play!
Here's the whole group ... three kings on the left, shepherds and angel on the right, Mary, Joseph, and Grandma seated in front:
Being silly....
After the play, we play Christmas carols on the hanging chimes. Everyone looks so intense as they follow Grandma's baton!
Emma didn't want a chime, just the jingle bells. ;-)
(Grandpa was getting over being sick, too)
And we missed having Todd with us on Christmas Eve. He stayed home that night, since he was the last to get sick. After Grandpa & Grandma's, we took Emma on a drive to see Christmas Lights, and she fell asleep as we headed home. Too bad she didn't get the full effect of sleeping in the blanket fort again with her sisters. This year's fort didn't quite match the amazing-ness of last year's blanket fort.
I'm sure glad my older girls are so good about doing things, like sleeping in a blanket fort, with Emma. They're even good sports about it when Emma unexpectedly gags and throws up on Christmas morning.
Ummm, yeah. Merry Christmas.
So I hope that explains (a little) this look on Emma's face, as her tummy wasn't all the way settled when she checks out her Christmas morning surprises...
(Emma can do bed-head like no other! Woot! What a hairstyle!)
Because we'd been sick, Grandma graciously offered to host Christmas dinner at her house (instead of at ours, as previously planned). So here are our girls, as we got ready to leave...
Todd did join us for Christmas dinner and beyond. And the good news is, since then -- nobody's been sick. (Knock on wood!!)
The best part of Christmas Day, was definitely getting to Skype with Cameron!! We brought a laptop to Grandpa and Grandma's house, and after Christmas dinner, we sat down and chatted away with him. This is one of the new ties that we sent him for Christmas:
He looks great, and we are so proud of him! We can see how he has grown and matured through his experience on his mission, and we're so glad he made this choice. One of his recent emails listed out his transfer dates for next year, since they would be changing... and now we have his return date!! He wanted to make sure someone would be at the airport to meet him. ;-)
We talked a bit about his after-mission plans, and he's looking toward working in the fall, earning money towards going to school, which will likely be a year from now. So far away, and yet, time zooms by so fast, it will feel like it's tomorrow!
Merry Christmas!
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