Christmas 2010- handmade gifts, a missionary gift, a Christmas service project, an inspiring Christmas essay, and more...

This Christmas turned out to be by far one of the most memorable for our family.....

•  The kids loved the sibling gift exchange.  Wesley worked his little fingers choosing beads and with a little help from mommy, stringing a darling bracelet for Caroline.

Caroline spent a lot of time making a scrapbook style calendar for Christina.  She designed the pages and left spaces for Christina to add pictures each month.

Grace gave a gift of service for Thomas.  She wrote him a note saying her gift for him would be to clean his room for 5 days straight.  Depending on the day, this could be a big gift!


Thomas gave Wesley a new locomotive for a train set that Wesley is just starting to get into.


Christina found these canvas "artist trading cards" at Michael's craft store, and made a little book for Grace.  Christina has been taking a mixed media art class and she decoupaged patterned paper and a word that describes Grace, and painted designs on each page, and the "G" scrabble tile on the front is so fun.  Grace looked through the book with a huge smile on her face.  Christina also gave Grace a trip to Clay time where they'll have a little sisters artsy outing.

• We participated in a Giving Tree at church.  One of the young women and her mother organized this project and we were so thankful that they enlisted the help of the youth and volunteer drivers to deliver wrapped gifts and turkey dinners to 10 households in our area.  There were tears of joy and lots of gratitude from the recipients as they opened their doors and let us give.

• One of the young women chose sewing a blanket for every patient in the cardiac ICU at children's hospital as one of her YW projects.  We donated flannel and blankets, and helped her sew.  At home we added a few Patriots and Red Sox fleece blankets, a quilt, and 30 hand-stamped heart themed charm necklaces (1 for each CICU patient or mommy).  It ended up that we delivered the gifts today, on Christmas.  We were able to deliver the gifts to the unit secretary and speak with a couple of the kind nurses to let them know what we had to offer.  Grace gave the gifts and later told me that she felt like her heart was going to burst, it felt so good.  We all felt the significance of being in a place the Saviour would visit on Christmas Day.  We'll work something like this into our Christmases as a family tradition every year.

• On the way home we drove through Boston to see the Christmas lights  & snapped a pic of the skaters at Frog Pond.

• I heard this beautiful Christmas essay that really set the tone for the season.  Thank you, Leilani for letting me tag along at your Relief Society's wreathmaking party...

• We pitched in on a 12 Days of Christmas for the missionary in our family (he's on a Spanish speaking LDS mission in TX).  It was fun to see what the extended family pulled together.....

Day 12: 12 Spanish children's primary songs on CD (5 copies), including songs in the 2011 Sacrament Meeting primary program.  These of for Elder M to give to children he baptizes next year.

Day 11: 11 handmade cards for Elder M. to give out

Day 10: 10 inspiring talks/quotes in a binder for Elder M. to add to throughout his mission.

Day 9: 9 Christmas carols on CD

Day 8: 8 packs of hot cocoa in a mug

Day 7: A mini candy gram using 7 chocolate minis/candy

Day 6: 6 recipes in a recipe booklet

Day 5: 5 spanish CTR rings for Elder M. to give to children he teaches

Day 4: 4 packs of mints/Altoids

Day 3: stationary, envelopes, stamps, pens (this SIL also made 12 days of Christmas gift tags)

Day 2: 2 white shirts

Day 1: this was his mom's day & her free choice

We also made Elder M a huge Christmas tree out of green wrapping paper cut into huge puzzle pieces.  He assembled it on his apt. wall & then we included cut out family pictures from our extended family 2010 calendar for ornaments, plus some scriptures.

• We pitched in on quilts that Wayne's sister, Shayla made for Wayne's brother who is working over seas this Christmas, and his wife who is at home with their boys.  We also sent their family some fun things to do together during vacation.  The quilts turned out beautifully--- Shayla is an incredibly talented quilter among other things....

• Our kids loved hearing about the Christmas when my family could not afford gifts.  We were doorbell ditched and found on the porch a stocking filled with candy canes and cash.  My mom was brought to tears, although this still meant no latest gadgets, but we'd get some things we needed....like sweats!  My sister was the first to open her gift of a new pear of sweats and she SCREAMED with glee.  Her reaction set the tone for our Christmas morning and we were truly thankful for each gift we were given.  You could see the relief on my mom's face as I'm sure she had worried that we would be disappointed.  This year as we had spent more on GIVING outside our family and chose to keep things simple for our own, our children SCREAMED with glee opening a Barbie doll, new winter hats, a used iPhone with no phone or data plan, Buzz Lightyear pj's, and a stuffed platypus, real teacups and saucers to use with the Dad-built play stove and aunt-made felt food.  It felt great to fit all of our wrapping paper trash into one garbage bag, and have such a happy time exchanging gifts.

• Did I mention that the kids "slept in" and we didn't open gifts until 7am AND Wayne and I got late morning naps?  Merry Christmas to us!

Tomorrow you'll see the coolest New England pj's EVER right here on our family's blog (my model is asleep and wearing them right now).  And if we can edit a streaker, we'll have a rated G version of "The 12 Days of Christmas" for you too.   So come back soon...

Merry Christmas to you!