I Celebrate the Day (part 3)

We had a great time opening gifts.  Even though things are tighter than usual this year, I wanted to be sure that the kids didn’t feel deprived.  (A lifetime of scarcity mentality in that concern there…)  Which mean that instead of buying a gift for each child that was worth a lot more than all of the others,for the most part I kept all of them in the $15-$25 price range.  They all seemed thrilled with what they gave and what they received, and Rachel said that she thought it was the best Christmas ever. 

Here are some of our favorite gifts.  I actually didn’t take many pictures of gifts, but I do have a few great ones.  First, Josh just after he finished saying how much he LOVED his secret Santa, who was Jenna.  Jenna took his request for candy very seriously, and gave him 5 wrapped gifts.  One was a box of fruit snacks from Costco, one was a huge bottle chocolate milk drink mix from Costco, and the other three contained gummies—bears, worms, lifesaver gummies, and gum too.  He was so excited, our sugar-aholic!  (And no, Josh isn’t very cooperative in pictures!)

These pictures are of Jared with his gift from Rachel, who was his secret Santa.  Jared had made no secret of the fact that he wanted this 53” teddy bear from Costco, and Rachel was dying to get it for him.  At first I told her no—after all we’re downsizing right now.  But then I had a strict talk with myself and reminded myself that they are still children, and I need to remember that rather than being too practical all of the time. 

There aren’t any more pictures, but here are some of the other favorites of the day.  Josh was Rachel’s secret Santa and he gave her this Harry Potter 20 questions game.  I was a little dubious about this one too, but I have to say—everyone who was here today played it at least once, and usually several times. 

Russ gave me an unexpected gift—something that I didn’t even know existed.  An avocado slicer!  It worked great tonight for the traditional Christmas Day guacamole (what?  you don’t have Christmas Day guac???) and I think I’m going to love using it.  And yes, I put avocado on everything I possibly can.

He also got me a little travel sewing set that is so cute that it makes me want to travel and sew immediately, and a tiny tape measure for my purse.  So that I’ll be able to measure people at will!

Rachel got a new game called Telestrations, which we’d played this summer in Idaho.  I had a feeling that this would be one that she would enjoy and I was not disappointed.  We had a great time playing it this evening.  It’s kind of a cross between pictionary and the old telephone game.

Jenna got a little fashion design kit that has a tiny dressmaker’s dummy in it, and she’s already planning the clothes she wants to design. 

It was interesting to notice that the little kids are old enough (the girls anyway) to be excited about receiving clothes now.  And they were beyond thrilled to receive several Taylor Swift things.  Their best friend gave them a cd/dvd of a tour, and I was so worried that the dvd I’d bought would be the same thing.  But no, when they opened it it was something else wonderful that they’d wanted.  I have a feeling that we’re going to be all Taylor all the time here. 

 

After we had a short nap it was time for one of the major highlights of our day.  We got to skype with Jason for over an hour!  I wish I’d taken a picture, but the video didn’t come in too clearly.  It was so much fun talking to him.  He sounds so happy and positive and like he is loving what he is doing.  The kids all had fun talking to him and Cindy Lynn & Mahon were able to talk to him too for a while.  He’s actually gained 10 lbs but he thinks that at least half of it is muscle from all of the hills they walk on.  I have to say that I love having a missionary.

 

When we were done talking to Jason our dinner guests arrived.  (The Rogersons and Ann.)  We pieced on the leftover breakfast casseroles while we slowly worked on dinner.  We played a game of telestrations (which everyone enjoyed—who knew the latent artistic abilities that our friends have!) and then ate our annual Mexican feast.  Then after dinner we collapsed onto the couch and played a couple of rounds of the Game of Things, a game Cindy Lynn and Mahon introduced us to last year and the Rogersons got for Christmas this year. 

 

It was a lovely Christmas.  I think we were more tired than usual, so between that and it being Sunday things were a little more subdued than usual.  I loved the feeling that going to church added to the day, and I loved getting to talk to Jason.  It was also fun that our little kids are really old enough to hold their own in games with the adults now. 

In the back of my mind there has been the little thought that we have no idea where we will be for next Christmas—but if this is our last Christmas here, at least everything was just about perfect…