Christmas Misc.

Lucy asked me sometime mid-October if we were going to stay home for Christmas this year.

"Of course not,"  I thought,  "Why would we stay home when we can go enjoy Grandma's cooking and cleaning and decorating and merriment?"  But I made the mistake of asking, "What would you like to do?"  

"Stay here,"  she said without hesitating.  

I raised my eyebrows, but didn't think much of it.  Surly she'd change her mind as Christmas got closer.  Surly she'd want to go to Grandma's like we always do.  Surly she didn't really feel strongly about the matter.  

But apparently, she did care.  Because she kept asking.  And finally one day, her argument swayed me.  

"Why do you want to stay home?" I had asked.

"Because we're never home,"  she replied.  

And she was right.  The single biggest life change accompanying our new school life is that we are hardly ever home.  

From that day on, I knew we'd stay home for Christmas.  And I knew it would be wonderful.  If I could just manage to clean the house.  =)

We were vacuuming and scrubbing right up to Christmas Eve morning.  =)  But somehow, in the midst of those busy Christmas weeks, we found the lights...

 And set up the tree...

And had some quality minutes playing with the Fisher Price nativity.  That night with Spud is dear in my memory...He loved being Joseph and leading the way to Bethlehem, "Come on, Mom, you're Mary!"  he'd remind me whenever I got sidetracked or distracted from our makeshift pageant...

He was all ears about Herod's role in the story this year, and about the Holy family's flight to Egypt, so much so, that he re-cast one of the three wise-men as Herod and stationed him near the pirate ship to give him appropriate ominousness.

A few weeks before Christmas, Lucy sang a solo at our stake Christmas crèche and did a beautiful job.  Can't figure out how to upload the video =(

 We celebrated our first day of Christmas break with H and R and a rented puppy...

The day before Christmas Eve, my sweet fiend watched my S and L in Provo so I could run a few final errands.  Then we stopped by the BYU bookstore where the kids picked out a treat to take to our Christmas Eve movie the next day.  

On Christmas Eve we made Wes's favorite Christmas meatballs,

 went to see Frozen with GandG Packer, and had a sweet, quiet Christmas Eve.

 Lucy asked me that night what I remembered about Christmas Eve as a little girl and I told her about always laying on the sheepskin rug by the fireplace with my dad, listening for sleigh bells until I couldn't keep my eyes open.  He always told great Christmas stories and I was glad my kids could snuggle up beside him on this Christmas Eve.

After decorating cookies for Santa and opening new jammies...

I tucked the kids into bed to enjoy visions of sugar plums and the like...

(Spencer lent his kindergarten cursive to the task of grandparent gifts this year.  I need to have him make one for me to keep too!)

Somehow I don't think Wes misses being Santa's wrapping elf on Christmas Eve.  But I always miss those late night moments together.  Good thing Grandma and Grandpa elf did all the work this year!  And good thing my always-tired kids slept right in until 8:30 on Christmas morning.  Such a lovely time!