...of 2008, of course! I know I've really been slowing down in the blogging department. It is what it is, and hopefully things will get better, but I'm really not sure that they will... until summer comes! I sure have enjoyed the break and "sleeping in" til 7:30. Leisurely mornings are my thing!
So I just have to post the pictures of our Christmas fun. One of the best I'd say! I had 347 pictures from the two days. I realize now that I have extra because Haley had the camera for awhile. I got it down to 272. Don't worry, I won't post ALL of them!
Christmas Eve is always fun. Our traditional dinner is homemade Clam Chowder and Cheese soup served in bread bowls. Peppermint Bavarian is always the dessert. Since my parents were leaving 2 days after Christmas for their mission, they were a bit overwhelmed. My big sis made arrangements so that all the kids would take care of the dinner, and mom wouldn't have to worry about any of it. I got to make the Clam Chowder for the second year in a row!
My mother kept tradition alive by wearing the same earrings my grandmother (who passed away in 2007) wore every Christmas. Thank you mother! We loved seeing them again!
Every year my sisters play the "Sleigh Ride" duet on the piano. And then we sing some of our favorite Christmas songs around the piano. Some of which are, "Were you There", "Baby What You Goin to Be", "White Christmas", and my dad usually plays and sings, "Oh Holy Night" for us. Although we didn't get to it this year!
After all the fun at my parents, we headed home (we're 3 minutes away - nice hu?). The kids anxiously awaited their Christmas Eve gift. The 4 oldest knew what it was - it's what they get every year on Christmas Eve!
Next we lay out our stockings, have family prayer, and then the kids go to bed. This is our other Christmas tradition... they all sleep in the same room together. It's one of their favorite things to do! Zack and Seth share the biggest room... so this is where they all ended up!
Our Christmas morning rule is, stay in the room until 7am. Last year WE had to go wake them up! This year, by 7:00, I already had two kids in my bed. Logan was already awake and fed, and Seth had crawled in at some point in the wee hours. Haley came in at 7:00 on the dot. All the other kids were still sleeping. Since it was 7am, we let her wake the other three up. Then Roman gathered them on the stairs for the annual picture:
Then it was off to the living room to see what Santa brought. We let them go through their stockings for a few minutes, then this year we went from oldest to youngest in opening our Santa gifts, one at a time. After the Santa gifts, the kids gave their gifts to each other. (Earlier in the month, they drew names. I took them out on two different shopping trips to purchase their gifts for each other. They even wrap the gift themselves.) They get so excited to give their sibling their gift - I love it! This year Aaron had Zack, Zack had Megan, Megan had Seth, Seth had Haley, and Haley had Aaron (they drew the names that way, can you believe it?!).
The kids were happy about the little Christmas they had. After the gift exchange, we had our big Christmas breakfast of homemade Orange Julius drinks, scrambled eggs, bacon, grits, and toast. Yes, we eat grits (me and the kids "contaminate" them with brown sugar and butter). This is our traditional Christmas breakfast - we've been doing it since 1995. After we ate, the kids played for a bit with their new things. Then we sat them down in the living room and Roman gave them each a card that had "directions and hints" to go find something. I got the idea of a scavenger hunt from Monica's blog (thanks Monica!) - But put Roman in charge of it. They were told that once they found the item, to go back to the living room and sit on the couch and wait. Off they went! Aaron had the hardest time since Roman sent him on a wild goose chase.
When they were all back, they sat together on the couch... the anticipation was killing them. When we said, "GO!" they opened the gifts all at the same time. The gifts were various Wii accessories and games. It was so fun to watch their faces!
After it processed in their brains, Zack said, "but we don't have a Wii!". We then told them there was one last present in the house and it was up to them to find it - with no clues (Roman hid it under Aaron's bathroom sink-yum). It took them awhile. We had to start giving them clues to narrow down the whereabouts. Finally, Haley found it, brought it back to the living room, and they ripped it open and were thrilled to see a Wii.
We've had a blast with it ever since. The kids have been beating Roman in all the Wii sports games. I even beat him in boxing! My arms sure were sore though! What I loved most was that the kids were truly pleased with what they had already received (which really wasn't much). They were content. The Wii was the cherry on top! And I'm glad we got it because we've all been playing it together! Even Seth has gotten into the action - his favorite being the boxing. You should hear the "tough guy" sounds he makes!Later that day we returned back to my parents house. The grand kids exchanged their gifts to each other. This takes awhile (I like it that way), because we had each different age group of kids sit in the middle of the circle and exchange their gifts to each other - complete with hugs and thank yous. We did the same for the gifts from Grandma and Grandpa.
After the kids got their gifts, they went off to play (OK, the teenagers didn't go play - they sat around and talked instead). The adults headed to the living room to exchange our gifts. I told you about the gift I was working on for my parents. Here it is:
I got this idea from Janet's blog (again - isn't she so handy?). My parents loved it and took it with them when they left for their mission. I sent smaller copy of it to my nephew who just went to the MTC the week before Christmas! He is the one making the "annoying" face on this gift. He's a funny guy, that Jared.Jim and Marji had us this year, and I'm so lucky they did! Check out the cute "Y" she made us! We both love it so much! Just earlier in the week, Roman gave me his Christmas gift by hanging things in my kitchen for me (the walls have been bare since I painted last summer, if you recall!). I still needed something on my big wall, and this is PERFECT! Maybe he'll hang it up for me tomorrow! They also gave us a Cocomotion, along with my most fave cocoa - Stephens French Vanilla!! Yummy! We've really enjoyed it this past week! THANKS JIM AND MARJI! It's WONDERFUL!
And lastly, my parents gave each of the kids a beautiful "antique" looking picture of the temple we were married in. On our canvas it says, "The Yoder Family, Established 1994, Boise Temple". It is a beautiful gift and I'm excited to have it in my home! Thanks mom and dad! My mom also had a bunch of the old 8mm film of our family movies put on DVD, and gave us each a copy. That has been a lot of fun to watch! It was just a wonderful Christmas - a great way to end 2008 - which has been quite the year of growth for me! How lucky and blessed I am to have the gospel in my life to keep me focused on whats important. It has made my marriage strong, it has taught me to be forgiving, it has led me to be a mother to six beautiful children... something that I absolutely cherish - my children. I'm so lucky to be their mother. Yes, that means I'm lucky to be the one to do their laundry, to wipe their booger noses, to clean up their spills and teach them to pick up their rooms. I love to snuggle in bed with them on Sunday afternoons, and I love hugging them in the morning. I'll take it all - the good and the bad, as long as I get to be their mother, and best of all, I get to be Roman's wife. What a blessed year it has been.Watch out 2009 - here we come!
