Christmas morning

 

We had a pretty low key Christmas.  Everyone got one nice present and then a couple presents from siblings.  Ada was so cute!  She went above and beyond for her siblings.  She made each of us something and then gave each of the kids a $2-3 something to go with what she made.  She's so creative and is learning new skills.   As for Jer and I, we got a new bed.  I'm in heaven!  It's made such a big difference on my ability to function through the day without stiffness.

Seth and his Dragons.

I bought Evelyn a dress and Ada bought her a little reading light.  She was much more excited about the light.  It was adorable! 

Ada made this Tri-force for Sam's wall.

Ada made Dad a list of all the Brandon Sanderson swear words.  He kept giggling.

Evelyn got an official tumbling mat for her big gift.  She was so excited and had to try it out right away.  

Sam has been asking for a fitbit and got one for Christmas.  He's so excited and he's been walking around and seeing how far things are from each other.  He's so like Jer.

Seth got the Front Runner train.  He remembered the last time he got a train and didn't get it out of the box, but he carried it around telling Dad that he needs to set up the track for him.

Ada loved to skate board but hasn't as much since she's grown to an adult size.  She cried when she walked in and saw a long board.  Then she spent half the day outside trying it out.  I think Dad chose that one wisely.

Christmas Eve

 

Christmas Eve was very low key for us.  We usually spend it over at the Robertson's house this year, but we told them that we'd stay away because the Utah cases have gone up.  So we played a 'ninja' game, unwrapped jammies and went to see the lights.  There were so many people that were generous with their lights this year.  Everywhere we went it was like a fairy land.  I made the kids' jammies this year.  Ada's and Seth's turned out great, but Sam and Evelyn's not so much.  Evelyn still can wear hers and loves them, but they are too big in the shoulders.  Sam must have grown since I measured and made his because he was too tall for them and I need to unstitch the crotch and make it longer.  Luckily it is fixable.

Holly and Joel Wedding

 

These two are cute little D&D players.  They had two photographers cancel on them because of Covid and I was happy to fill in.  I haven't done weddings for a long time, and we only had a small amount of time and resources on this one.  I was so happy to even have gotten what we did.  Heavenly Father knew they and I needed a few extra blessing in order to make this one work.  Pure Grace.

Holly's bridals

 This was my first ever Covid Wedding.  Definitely different.  We were able to get a few different pictures, but we only had about 10 mins before the basement ceremony and about 30 minutes after the temple ceremony to get pictures and let them visit with family before we were asked to be out of the way for other families.  We tried to hurry but still get some worth while shots.  I think we got a couple that they'll be happy with.  We'll find out.

Last pre-Chirstmas

We love doing the Messiah Sing in.  This year they did a free streaming from home service, so we hung out, sang and chatted.  It was fun.

 

The Christmas Star

 

On Dec 21st, we were able to see the "Christmas star".  Jupiter and Saturn aligned for the first time in 800 years.  It was so exciting!  I love that it's something that the entire world could see.  We went to Utah Lake with my parents and Janelle.  There were a couple of people out with their telescopes and we even met on of the landscape photographers that I follow on Facebook, Wesley Aston.  Jer got out the telescope that we inherited from Seth and lined it up so we could get a good look.  It was cool!  You could even see the rings around Saturn. There are more detailed or artistic pictures of it, so I'll share, but I'll also share ours.  

From Thailand

From my mom's cousin in Midway, UT.

This was my favorite of my shots.

This is the only one that I got that if you zoom in on, you can see the stars lined up behind Jupiter in a line that make the points of light of the "Christmas Star".  I do believe in signs and miracles.  I'm hoping this is a sign of something good to come.  We can just keep moving forward, teaching our families and rejoicing as we see each other progressing.  Here's something to celebrate!  My nephew, Joseph B. has filled out his paperwork for a mission.  He'll be a great missionary.  He's shy, but he is genuinely a good man with a good heart.  I'm excited for him. When we asked if we could contribute to his mission, he had already worked and saved the money to pay for his whole mission. 

Mom's doing alright after her back surgery.  She's a little sore after my camping chair broke under her not long after this picture.  Sorry momma!

Ada held all the snow that Vivien could pack into her arms.  It was adorable.

Our kids kept tackling each other and rolling down the hill together.  It was adorable.

Thea

There were people down walking out onto the ice on the lake.  My kids wanted to go so bad.  I didn't want to slip and fall when I'm this close to finishing physical therapy so I promised that we'd walk on the lake another time.  I hope I remember.  That would be neat.