Merry Christmas!

This Christmas season has been so much fun! A & E both loved seeing the Christmas lights everywhere and their excitement made the holiday seem magical.

When we went to see Santa, they were both nervous. A tried really hard to be brave and sat on Santa's lap like a big kid; E, on the otherhand, couldn't conquer her fear and was terrified when we tried to give her to Santa!

A comprehends the basics of things like the story of Baby Jesus as well as Santa Claus, but I'm grateful he is still sweet and unselfish in what gifts he wants—all he wanted was "the Hippo Game." And I especially loved how he was thrilled and grateful when Santa brought it for him!

This year, we decided to follow an idea where the kids ask for four items: something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read. I love the simplicity of this idea and allowed us to talk more about gifts to get for other people rather than constantly thinking of more and more toys they want for themselves. It turned out that the majority of their gifts were from each other and it was fun to teach them about the joy of giving instead of receiving. As we mommas do, I worried it would seem like a sparce Christmas morning but the kids seemed to think it was great and didn't seem as overwhelmed by all the new stuff like they have in the past.

We still managed to fit in our annual trip to Temple Square, although this year we did it on Christmas Day instead of Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, it was below freezing and soooo cold!! But it still helped us remember the real meaning of Christmas.

I'm so grateful to have this cute little family to share the holiday season with!