Christmas

Christmas this year was wonderful. I think this is the first year in i don't know how long, that we have had enough money to buy Christmas presents without having to wait for a Christmas bonus check- which is a good thing because we don't got one at the new job! The kids were so cute, loving everything they received. And before we went down to open presents McKenzie gave a sweet prayer thanking our Heavenly Father for all our many blessings. And we have MANY blessings.

The day went like this:
Open presents (we made them wait until 7:00!), and get ready for the day.
Head over to Grandma McCullough's for lunch, and meet up with the rest of the fam.
Go to the cemetery to visit Mom's grave (I didn't think about a wreath until we were on our way up there, darn it!).
Head up to Bountiful to visit Grandma and Grandpa Skeen.
Go home to a yummy turkey crockpot dinner.

Usually we have dinner at Pug's parents house, but they had Christmas up at their cabin in Bear Lake. So it was a little quieter than usual.

I LOVE Christmas! I love the spirit of the season. I love being able to reflect on our Savior and doing good things for one another. I love the decorations, the excitement, thunder that Christmas brings. This year was much easier to get into that spirit. Last year- because it was the first Christmas without Mom- was a very difficult year. But I would like to think that I have grown a lot in the past year. I still miss her like crazy, but I have been finding different ways to honor her and her memory. Especially at Christmas time- which was her favorite holiday ever.