I can't believe Christmas is over. Around 8 o'clock in the evening on Christmas Day, every year I start to get all somber and sad that it's almost over, haha! But it was a really fun one this year!
We had a Christmas FHE with my parents and siblings on the 23rd where we had a super yummy ribs dinner, did a gift exchange, and Mom had put together a #LightTheWORLD! slide show. It was so awesome.
Jace and Jenna are in town from Texas, so we go to see and spend some time with them too, which has been SO fun! We really miss them and their family a ton! Their kids crack us up, and they are all so fun to be around.
We were with my side of the family this Christmas, so on Christmas Eve we went to Grandma Nilsson's for traditional Christmas Eve Clam Chowder. It was a really small gathering, but I still loved it! Grandma asked the Grandkids (there were only 5 of us there... haha) to dress up for the nativity, so of course Chance and I were Mary and Joseph, and the cousins and McKay were the wisemen. Haha, it was pretty comical! We read the Christmas story (where Grandpa accidentally said "and Mary, his estranged wife" instead of espoused, hahaha, and sang carols. I love the spirit that doing those things always brings. Also, before we went to my Grandma's that evening, Chance took me to get some real maternity clothes. THEY ARE HEAVEN! He told me before I got pregnant that he would do his best to make me feel pretty and like being pregnant.... so I would do it a lot of times ;) Well he followed through! Haha!
We went home and watched the Grinch, as we always do on Christmas Eve and we went to bed! Now, because I'm pregnant I always have to wake up sometime in the night to go to the bathroom. This night was no different! I woke up at 4:30 to go, and then as a 6 year old child, I was too excited to sleep. Chance wouldn't let me wake him up until 6:30, so I just laid in bed awake, waiting for the time to pass! Finally it came, and I woke him up and McKay and we went upstairs to find our surprises! I'm getting pretty good at gift giving for Chance even though he never tells me what he wants! One of my favorite things I got him were these little 3D wooden brain teaser puzzles. He loved them, even though he figured them all out in like an hour. But it was fun to give him a "toy" for Christmas. Chance did great for me too! I love having Christmas with him! We got ready and went to our Church Service which is always nice on Christmas because it's all music! My mom was the choir conductor and she had them sing this gospel rock Christmas song, and it was so awesome. Not what you typically hear in an LDS church meeting, haha it was so cool. We came home, tinkered with our new things, and then went around to visit my siblings before going to Grandmas (some of them didn't come because they were sick or just had new babies!). At Grandmas we had a wonderful feast and spent time with more family. Grandma's themed gift this year was "Have you filled anyone's bucket today?" and she talked about service and charity and encouraged us all to "fill ours and those around us buckets". She is so cute. I love the way Grandma gets into holidays and how important family is to her. I always try to be like her in those ways! I'm still learning all her cooking skills though ;)
Christmas ended and we were exhausted. We slept in the next morning and it was super relaxing. Then we went Ice Skating with Jace's family, and it was freezing, but look at those girls! They are so cute! Millie was awesome too, after a few times of us just holding her as we went around the rink, she wanted to try and hold the wall by herself and balance on the ice. I was so impressed!
The best part of Christmas this year was spending it with Chance and our families. We are so thankful for this time of year and the spirit that it brings. We loved the spirit of giving and charity, and we are so thankful to celebrate the birth of our Savior at this time of year, for he was the ultimate example of what we should all be.
Merry Christmas everyone!
