Christmas Highlights! (in February)

Whew! I’m finally getting around to writing about our wonderful Christmas highlights.

First of all, this Christmas was very special for us because it was our very first in our own home with just our family. We were able to start many of our own traditions which we hope to see resurface again and again in the future. We kicked off the festivities with a special Christmas Eve dinner, a cowboy rendition of “The Night Before Christmas” and caroling to bell accompaniment (thank you Reber family). We’d like to thank the Rae family for joining us and especially for bringing delicious cinnamon rolls, listening to the questionable music coming from our toddler bell ringers and sticking through the chaos to finish a game of Settlers. We were so glad you joined us!



After opening their Christmas Eve present and jumping into matching jammies, we let the girls have a sleep-over together (one of my family traditions). We also refused to allow them to come downstairs to see the presents until they had lined up, youngest to oldest for a picture on the stairs. I love seeing how my family stair picture grew through the years. I hope to achieve the same effect in years to come.

Although Kayla had a multitude of wonderful presents to choose from (thank you Santa, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.), she was mostly enamored with the box of especially sweet sugared cereal that she opened. It never left her side all morning—sure easy to please her!

I loved watching Ella attempt to hang onto as many presents as possible. At one point, she was riding her new wiggle racer, with two princess costumes on, princess shoes, a crown, necklace and several rings, while still holding a caboodle full of chapstick.

At one point during the unwrapping stage, Ella said, “I’m tired of opening presents.” (This may have been when I was opening my pile.) In any case, we packed up the leftovers for her May birthday. After looking at all her loot, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised she was so tired. Once again, thank you to all of our family for all of the wonderful gifts we now enjoy. I should also mention that the bed she is sitting on is brand new. That’s right, months of sleeping on the floor in a tent are now over for Miss Ella. That is definitely a highlight!

When we announced our surprise visit to Arizona, Ella cheered, “Yay, we get to see Goldie the dog.” Of course, there are a lot of other reasons to be cheerful about our visit. I, for one, love to be with my family and celebrate all of the Christmas traditions that have been part of my childhood experience. This is a picture of my family visiting the Christmas lights at the Mesa, AZ temple—quite spectacular. I also enjoy seeing my kids interact with all of their extended family members—we love you all. Family is so important. At one point in our visit, we were having a “gratitude” dinner at a friend’s home and we took turns (youngest to oldest) expressing our gratitude for something that touched us particularly that year. Kayla was the first to go—she simply said, “Ella.” Ella was second to go, and she said, “My sister, Kayla.” It was a very sweet moment for me as a mother to watch my girls express love for each other.

I also love going home during Christmas time to experience the after Christmas shopping with my mom—she is quite the deal-finder. Don’t worry Mom, I’ll keep it all a secret from Dad ☺

Hair seemed to me a continual topic of conversation around the home—these pictures may explain why.




Both Kayla and Ella experienced a “first” together—their first horse ride. Ella was an immediate fan; Kayla was not.



I am now a fan of the ipod game. We took turns singing songs with our eyes closed, earphones on, and ipods all the way up, while dancing for the audience members. It was a hoot. Definitely only a game for a crowd that loves each other.


Finally, I love experiencing New Year’s with my family. At 8:00 pm on New Year’s Eve night, the Lewis family does their own count down. With our thrift store instruments and old pots and pans in hand, we then proceed to invite ourselves into our neighbors homes and march around yelling, “Happy New Year” and banging instruments. Ella loved screaming into her recorder, while Kayla seemed a little mystified by it all. The neighbors, trust me, are used to it.



All in all, we had a wonderful Christmas 08 and as Ella said yesterday, “When is Santa coming again?” We almost can’t wait until next year!