Papa Ed's Christmas House

Papa Ed became the #1 celebrity around our house during the Holidays. Papa goes ALL OUT for Christmas and the Snow Village is only the tip of the iceberg. If Papa's name came up, Bee would grab her boots and head for the door because she wanted to get to Papa's house to play. Tom and Todd spent Christmas at mom's this year and that was another big draw, so we spent lots of days at Grandma Ginny's and Papa Ed's house. Everything from the twirling Christmas tree, the Snow Village, the snowing Christmas tree, the choo-choo trains, the movie theater and even the stuffed singing frogs were enough to blow this little girl's mind open. When we would return home I got the feeling that she was pretty underwhelmed by our regular old Christmas tree and measly decorations. It's hard to compete with Mr. Christmas himself! We had some family and friends come enjoy the Snow Village and Bee was super proud to show off her awesome Papa.

Tea party with Uncle Tom in the loft

The day after playing hard at Papa's Christmas house we were always ready for a recovery nap. This day Bee didn't quite make it to the crib.

After Christmasing

Every year I make a conscious decision during the Holidays to scale back, do less and enjoy more, but it's proving to be an impossible challenge. There is just too much fun to be had! We didn't check every last thing off our Christmas bucket list this year, but judging by the level of exhaustion from my kids, we enjoyed more than our fair share of holiday cheer. Visiting Temple Square after Christmas was sort of awesome. Still lots of people, but less of the crazy shopping crowds. Even in the bitter cold the Temple grounds can keep that little bit of Christmas spirit alive.

Christmas Nativity

Russ and Jana put together a beautiful little Christmas Nativity program for the Duncan grand-kids this year. Is there anything cuter than this? Clearly, no. Ellie and Cody ran around the house playing Mary and Joseph for an hour afterwards. I was so proud of my little angel and Shepherd boy. Five grand babies under 4; the greatest success of the night was this picture on the stairs. A favorite new tradition has been born.

We miss her everyday, but especially at Christmas.

More Christmasing

A special dinner in Bethlehem which looked a lot like the Johnson's living room floor; new tradition we hope!

This year Grandma Richman's elf found a home on our new wreath under the mistletoe ;). My cousin in Maryland sent me pictures of their elves from Grandma hiding around their house. It made me so happy!

Lucky me! BD surprised me with The 12 Days of Christmas. I loved being spoiled with something small and fun each day.

Lisa hosted another beautiful (after) Christmas Brunch for us ladies. Liz was here from Vegas. So fun! Move back!

And AJ and Bee were finally able to meet Glenn! These little ladies were born all within a few months of one another. YUM.

Turns out, Christmas is even better with a little one

Just two years ago Brad and I spent a hot sunny Christmas Day by the pool in Brazil. It was an amazing-once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I wouldn't trade for anything. But, even in the warm sun of the tropics we knew that deep within our hearts we would rather be back in cold snowy Utah playing Santa Claus for our imaginary family to be. This year it would seem all our dreams are coming true. Our little miracle baby is finally here, babbling and singing and scooting around the Christmas Tree mesmerized by the twinkling lights. Not to mention our other little miracle on the way. Life is full of surprises. If I had a crystal ball that day on the beach two years ago, I would never have seen this coming. But I'm so happy that this is our life today. Throw some tinsel on me, I'm a Christmas Miracle!

Christmas Eve

This was the first year that my mom and Ed combined families and traditions on Christmas Eve. The partying kicked off early in the evening with Chinese take-out and an elaborate game of bingo. When we arrived there were oh, about 4,000 people crammed into the kitchen, living and dining rooms with someone calling the bingo numbers over a microphone. It was quite a sight! After the unwrapping of presents from mom and Ed we started our traditional Christmas Eve fondue and families started heading out one by one. Eventually it was whittled down to just my family (the diehards!) and we attempted to finish off the night with our favorite family traditions.

Brook read from Luke 2, under the glowing light of Ed's lovely leg lamp, and after 3 attempts we finally had our peaceful "Silent Night" moment by the Christmas tree lights. Although at one point I think I yelled "be quiet and think about Jesus!" That's usually my mom's job, but she was breaking another rule by talking on the phone and receiving her Christmas wish from the favorite child (Tom, obviously). We always tease my mom about her traditions, but when they were threatened to not happen, we all threw a big Christmas tizzy fit until they did :). Thanks mom, for always making Christmas special.

Dancing with Daddy

Christmas Eve diehards, plus KJ looking mighty dapper in that pose

Just like when we were kids, BD and I had a hard time falling asleep on Christmas Eve, knowing that tomorrow would be Bee's first Christmas. Phoebe of course was oblivious to Santa Claus and the holiday in general but absolutely delighted in the Christmas Morning Wrapping! Paper! Extravaganza! and the fact that daddy was around for an extra long weekend.

Bee's First Christmas; a few things we already had, a few things from grandma, and a few things mom couldn't live without.

Christmas Day

At Grandpa Lee's house we opened more Santa presents with cousins Ellie and Cody and had a big yummy Christmas brunch. Grandpa Lee always spoils us and the kids and it's so fun to watch their eyes pop out of their heads. A big highlight for Ellie was a musical ballerina doll, while Cody was content playing with last years Mr. Potato Head. Phoebe scored a doll and bouncer play gym that she loves! Lee surprised his kids with some beautiful pictures of their mom that they had never before seen. It was so sweet and tender (more on that later).

After attempting naps, calling Grandma, and Skyping with Jana and Russ it was eventually time to head over to Marci's house to finish off our Christmas Day festivities. I remember there were cheesy potatoes that rocked my world. I try to stay away from such temptations, but apparently not on Christmas. We exchanged gifts between my siblings and mom. We made some funny videos. Mom did her old cheer-leading dance moves. It was too fun! Bee was so exhausted by the end of the night she finally gave up on us during the always long drawn-out goodbye syndrome we all suffer from.

A happy, successful, Christmasy Christmas indeed! Lots of hectic back and forth between our two families, but it's always worth it in the end. I love having our families close enough to spend holidays with. My heart always aches for those who spend the Holidays alone, whether by choice or not, because I think no one should be alone on Christmas. Someday I hope my home is always open to anyone who wants to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior. And have some fondue, too. xoxo

Phoebe at Christmas 2012

She is the magic of Christmas this year!

Phoebe meets Old Saint Nick

Well that went about 100% better than we ever expected! Bee thought Santa was super cool and snuggled right up on his lap and would have been happy to stay a while. She was really really tempted to yank his (real) beard, but showed great restraint and only patted it and smiled. Old Saint Nick didn't even have to ask, he could tell that she had been a good girl this year. Oh that Santa, he's the real deal!

The Holidays: a big long catch up post

The end of 2011 just flew right by, didn't it? We celebrated the merry and bright of the Holidays surrounded with family. It was wonderful to be close to our loved ones this year. BD and I didn't quite make it through all of our 12 Dates of Christmas, but even still we were able to take our Holiday Togetherness to a whole new level. Worth it, I say! Here's a bit of a catch up post, mostly so I can record that these things happened.

Christmas Eve at the Richman Home

This will likely be the last Christmas Eve at the home of my childhood. Sometimes change is good, but sometimes change makes me weepy. This is the home where I crept up the stairs to discover the magic of Santa Claus. This is the home where my Grandmother sat in the rocking chair and recited Luke II from memory every Christmas Eve. This is the home where we have chocolate fondue and listen to Mannheim Steamroller's Silent Night by the twinkle of white Christmas tree lights. This year we admired new tattoos on our very own Marine, read aloud a new Christmas book from Mom, performed our own choral of the bells, had a surprise visit from a long lost brother :), and snuggled on the couch next to the fire.

Christmas Day at the Duncan's

We started our Christmas morning by attending a beautiful music worship service in the Avenue's. We then headed straight to the Duncan's for a yummy brunch. As a family we attended church together and then came home to open presents. Watching Cody and Ellie open gifts was really the highlight of our whole Christmas. They were darling! We gave them each their own Tickle Monster kit. Cody was the first to try it and he giggled sweetly as his dad tickled him, just as we hoped he would. Oh, to hear a child laugh! Ellie was all business about opening presents. She wore a furrowed brow and tore through each present with serious intent. She would sweep it off the table and was ready for the next. We could hardly get her to crack a smile in between. That girl was on a Christmas mission. It was adorable!

 

 

Russ & Jana's Wedding

Over the Christmas break BD's little brother was married to his sweetheart Jana. It made for a cRaZy Christmas vacation, but was really the perfect day in the end. BD keeps saying, "I can't believe Rusty is married!" We're entirely happy for these two. They are the perfect compliment to one another. Grandma and Amy came for the wedding and we loved spending time with them. It was wonderful to finally meet Jana's family and share this event all together. The whole day was beautiful. Russ made his own Lego cake topper which totally redeemed my second (and maybe last) feeble attempt at a wedding cake. Dan played his guitar and harmonica and sang at the reception. We ate it up, and love to hear him play. I completely teared up when Russ and Jana waltzed together while her family serenaded them.*sigh*

 

 

 

New Year's Eve

A totally low-key night in my pajamas, and just what we needed. I even took a long nap in the afternoon to ensure I could last until midnight :). Tom and Todd came up and we ordered Indian take out from Bombay House. I'm so happy this baby loves Indian food. Then we played Monopoly! Tom bankrupted us all. No surprise. I've never played Monopoly with Tom when he hasn't bankrupted me. BD whipped up some mocktails which reminded us of yester-years when we loved to host a big New Year's Eve bash. Moving into a new chapter of life, we went to bed that night in the wee hours of the brand new year, each of us with a hand on my growing belly and whispered our love to this baby girl. 2012 really is the year of the baby. Pinch me.

I think we're supposed to be making a "12" here. But clearly, we've had too much to drink ;)

The rest of Salvador

I didn’t know Juliano on my mission, but he drives a taxi for Jailson, and thus we had the pleasure to meet him and his family. We immediately had a great connection with them and felt like we’ve been friends forever. Having Juliano as our personal tour guide helped ease my worries about getting around Salvador. He was fantastic. His wife makes chocolate bon-bons and you can imagine that Gina was quick to put in a large order. She and Gina seemed to make a great connection. She also made Gina a beautiful doll and wrapped it as a Christmas gift. Gina can’t wait to someday put the doll in a nursery. We have been blown away by the generosity of the people and members here.

Before a few months ago, I had practically written off tasting acarajé for a long, long time, but on this trip my wish came true. Here I am about to dig into a nice palm-oil-deep-fried acarajé, complete with vatapá and shrimp. You just can’t get this taste anywhere else in the world. Gina ate it and claimed to have liked it. She’s pretty much a miracle.

Jailson took us out to the Praia do Forte which is the world headquarters for the TAMAR project, specializing in the revitalization and protection of the various marine sea turtles. I got to hold a sea cucumber, take a dip in the ocean, and talk about science. I love this place.

While I didn’t think to take a picture of it, Gina slept the entire way back to Salvador. Jailson kept thundering in his trademark low voice “A mulher se quebrou na Bahia! A mulher ‘ta quebrada,” which roughly translates to “Bahia rocked her world.” He couldn’t be more right.

After the rocking of Gina’s world and a wonderful night at the Da Silva’s house, we had a very relaxing Christmas Day and for the first time it finally felt like we were truly on vacation. We got to talk to both of our families via Skype which made being in Brazil feel not quite so far away.

Gina's Christmas Day 2010

BD's Christmas Day 2010

Feliz Natal 2010

 Gina woke up early one morning (yes, you read that right) and luckily I heard her say, “wow, look at that amazing sunrise.” I jumped up and had to snap a few quick photos. What a beautiful way to start the day.

Bahian Sunrise

 We took the long way to the airport and drove along the coast to the Faról de Itapuã. This quaint little candy-cane lighthouse is a little bit away from the city. I was glad we could cap off our Salvador trip with a quick stop here. It was certainly hard to say goodbye to Jailson at the airport. I don’t know when I’ll see him or Bahia again.

Itapuã Lighthouse