Christmas 2011

It's about time I got around to Christmas. Part of the delay has been pictures...

The week before Christmas Mike drove one of our cars out to Utah, spent a day looking for jobs, then flew home. Sadly, the camera stayed in Utah which meant all of our Christmas pictures were taken on his iPOD Touch. I've been wanting to get them on the computer even though they aren't the greatest, but I haven't and I finally stopped caring. So without any pictures to show you how cute the girls looked on Christmas eve in their red outfits or how excited Hazel was about her presents here's our Christmas...

This is the first year that Hazel understood about Christmas and Santa and she was so excited. I wanted it to still be a special day despite the fact we were moving 3 days after Christmas. So, I insisted we set up a small tree and decorate even though everything else in our house was in boxes. This was our first year celebrating Christmas without any family so we were able to start some of our own traditions, play Santa and fill the stockings, etc. It was absolutely wonderful! Eliza enjoyed the lights and bows and was adorable throughout the day. But it was Hazel's reactions that truly made our Christmas.

On Christmas morning Hazel was thrilled to see that Santa came! As we were opening stockings she asked me "Who gave me this present?" so I told her "Santa." She followed with her typical response of "Why?" We were then able to explain to her that Christmas was a time to celebrate Christ's birth and that Santa's gifts helped us remember the gift God had given the world. It was such a sweet conversation and I could tell she understood it. We then got ready for Church where Hazel and Eliza both loved every minute of the Christmas program and songs. When we got home we went to unwrap presents and Hazel was amazed that there were more presents for her (she would have been completely satisfied with just her stocking). She said "There are more presents?"

That reaction from my sweet little girl touched me so much and remind us of the true meaning of Christmas. By many standards we had a very small Christmas. Each of the girls got only a few small gifts from us and one small gift from Santa. Not a lot of money was spent as we knew we were moving and didn't yet have a job. To be honest, I wished we could have done more. But Hazel showed only gratitude for what she received and never once thought about wanting more. I LOVED how from the moment we began opening stockings she was more focused on Christ than the number of presents Santa brought her. I LOVED how she was so thankful for everything she received. I LOVED how she helped Eliza open her presents was willing to share her new toys with her. I LOVED the Spirit she brought to our home on Christmas morning. Most of all, I LOVED how she reminded me of what Christmas is really about. It isn't about presents or trees or fancy food although all of those things are nice. It's really about remembering our Savior and the gift He gave us all.

It truly was the perfect Christmas (tiny tree, moving boxes and all). I hope that future Christmases can be a sweet.