December 2019 and Christmas!

I have dubbed December as the second fastest month of the year! I have mixed feelings about how much is crammed into this month! I love the spirit of Christmas, the extra time we spend thinking about Christ’s example and his birth, the recitals, the Christmas events with family, and dropping off the neighborhood treats. I also love getting holiday cards and updates from friends and family. The things I don’t like are over tired kids, all the prep, too much sugar, and lack of routine. Somehow it comes and goes in the blink of an eye and I am always sad I didn’t get to soak up my family just how they are a little bit more! Jon and I celebrated with a birthday date the very first Monday of the month since he would be gone for my actual birthday in Florida. It was sweet of him to plan and think of me. We went shopping, got pedicures, and had a delicious lunch at the cheese cake factory. He spoiled me and made me feel extra loved! That week we spent doing some Christmas activities since Bentley and Jon would be gone to his football nationals for ten days!! (I was not happy about this and didn’t want them to go, but Jon thought it was important to finish out the season with his team and complete what he started. Also Bentley as a big part of the team so if he didn’t go it would definitely have put his team at a disadvantage. So much to my dismay they were gone over my birthday and arrived home on baileys.) Anyways, we made gingerbread houses, sugar cookies, and most importantly visited the giving machine in downtown Gilbert before they left. The giving machine is an awesome place to go and pick out services you can pay for that go to people all around the world in need of basic things like water, food, shelter, backpacks, clothing, and so on. I’m so glad our kids get the opportunity to give and to talk about the blessings we have and the reason for the season. Bentley and Jon left and he had three games while he was in Florida. They won only one but had a great time and learned a lot! Bentley played well! He and Jon got priceless bonding time and got to go to two theme parks, took a gator airboat ride, and went to a state park to see monkeys and other animals. He was spoiled by Jon and he got a once in a lifetime experience to do this! While they were gone we survived and had some fun ourselves. I thought it was really sweet that the younger kids stepped up and made me feel special on my birthday! The decorated the house, made me cards, and bought me gifts from their holiday house at school with their own money! I had friends take me to lunch, my cousin brooke came to visit and she brought the cutest cake stand and cupcakes my aunt Deb made, my parents took me to dinner, my friend jade spoiled me with treats and a present, Jon had cookies delivered, and I received so many kind messages from friends and family! It was a birthday to remember for sure. I turned 35 so now I am on the latter end of my thirties and looking forward to strengthening my mind and body! We had our ward Christmas breakfast where the kids sang, they had fun activities, and Santa brought chocolate advent calendars. That reminds me: during the Last Sunday in November we gifted the kids with matching Christmas pjs, and I just love how they all look in them together! Got to keep them matching while I can. Back to week two of december... after my birthday we celebrated baileys birthday all weekend! We got birthday freebies, went to dinner at oreganos with cousins and grandma and grandpa, saw the nutcracker, and her big birthday wish came true when she got to go riding horses with one of her best friends Brighton! I am so grateful to my good friend Kelsee for making this happen! Needless to say Bailey had a wonderful birthday as well! We were excited to welcome Jon and Bentley home after ten long days. FaceTiming and phone calls just weren’t enough! The kids made a sign and were so happy to have them home again! We opened baileys presents, and sang happy birthday to her as a family! That next week was spent finishing the last week of tests and assignments at school, passing out teacher gifts, and enjoying class parties! The last day of school was donuts with dad and so Jon enjoyed taking the older kids to get donuts and spend time with them! I tried to get most of my Christmas buying done during November when all the stores had Black Friday deals, that way when Jon was gone I spent my night wrapping, and doing Christmas prep. I wanted to get most of this done because I knew the week before Christmas would be crazy and Jon’s sister Lexi and her family would be coming into town the Sunday before Christmas! They joined us for all our Christmas festivities and hung out with us for all of the two week break. For Christmas we spent time at my aunt Corina’s with the whole Curtis clan. We had soups, corn bread, salad, and lots of yummy desserts! We played minute to win it games and visited lots with everyone. I don’t get to see my extended family much anymore so it’s always nice to catch up. That Monday we went to the lake with Alexis and her family. It was freezing but Jon still wanted to go. Jon and Kurtis were the only ones crazy enough to get in! Then we ate pizza and visited at our house in the hot tub. The next night we went to my parents house for Christmas Eve. We had Mexican food and we sang songs, shared talents, and read the story of Jesus birth while the kids acted out the nativity. There is always such a special spirit when we do that and it is one of my favorite parts of Christmas! We also played the Saran Wrap game, and the cousins exchanged gifts. That night once we were home we got the kids bathed and their Christmas pjs. Then we left some cookies and milk for Santa. The kids quickly went to bed so Santa wouldn’t skip our house. After the kids were in bed, Jon and I sat on the couch and put our feet up while watching the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree. We love this time of year and are grateful for the birth of our savior, the one who lives and died for us and who set the example for us to follow! Christmas morning with the kids is always so much fun! Their is magic in the air. They all stand together by the front door and then when we say they can come in to the living room they all come running full speed to see what Santa brought. I like to let them open their stockings and then eat breakfast. After breakfast we go back to the tree and open gifts from each other and Santa. Then the kids open the gifts from mom and dad one by one. We are blessed and the children loved what they got! The rest of the break we mostly spent with jons sister Lexi’s family showing them Arizona. We went to movies, on hikes, played outside, went to parks and ate lots of good food. We are so grateful for the memories we made with them and are glad they came to visit. For New Year’s Eve we had them over to hot tub, play games, and set off fireworks. I am always sad when the holidays are over but I am quick to get things cleaned up and put away. Until next year!