Christmas Eve EVE is already here!

Didn't December used to creep by when you were little, and now it flys by in a blink. I started Christmas shopping very early this year, but even still I was trolling the lanes at Wal-mart today still trying to figure out what to get Kevin and stocking up on baking stuff to make the extra batch for neighbors and friends we still need to get to.

We started with our ward party. We had a dinner and Santa, who was the funniest Santa I had ever seen. We had made Berkley sit on Santa's lap a few times, so she knew by now she was not interested so after we watched all the kids take their turns I asked her if she wanted to go see Santa. She firmly said "No!" and latched onto to my leg. I asked if she just wanted to say Hi, so she turned, without letting go of my leg and said "Hi" from across the room. And that was enough for her.

Later that week the elves started visiting our house and leaving gifts for the 12 days of Christmas. This was a tradition started when I was growing up, and they leave a little gift or activity. This helps pass the time and entertain the kids while Mom gets holiday things done, and get some little gifts that may get lost in the hustle of Christmas morning. It also helped Braelyn remember that the elves were there to watch her and report back to Santa each day, if she was being naughty or nice. Some of the favorite's this year have been snuggies, paint set and candy of course!

We also got a visit that may have been even more exciting than Santa coming, when Munga came to Georgia! We weren't sure if Berkley would remember them but she saw her first and tried to crawl up the escalator to get to her. We kept her busy by going to the library puppet show, grocery shopping and then to see "The Princess and the Frog." The girls also opened their Christmas gift from them, which was a train table and Braelyn has spent hours playing with it since. I took no pictures because we were literally running everywhere because Kevin and I also got to get away for 2 nights and go to a conference in Tennessee. I was so excited to have an entire day to do anything I wanted and to be able to spend some time with Kevin. It was a 6 hour drive and I loved just reading my magazine and not having to get anyone treats, or toys or potty breaks. We stopped to get dinner when we got there and I dug right into my food because it is a luxury to eat your meal when it is hot but about 10 minutes into the meal Kevin said, "We really don't have anything to talk about do we?" I laughed because I was just enjoying the quiet. While Kevin was at classes I got to exercise in the weight room, take a long bath and actually blow dry my hair. It was bliss. It started snowing that day and quickly escalated into the worst storm they had had in about 5 years. We didn't think it was that bad but we are used to Utah winters, but we had to go to 5 different restaurants to find one that had stayed open. There were cars all over the side of the road. We had thought we wouldn't have a white Christmas this year, but we did get a taste of it. We were very nervous about coming home because we had to come over a steep mountain pass, but after much thought and debate we decided to try it and it was much easier than everyone had made it out to be. We only had to stop because of rubberneckers checking out a semi on the shoulder. My dad was also supposed to fly in from Florida for the weekend and he had a nightmare with the weather in Florida and Atlanta as the storm moved north. He got delayed twice and ended up not getting to the house until midnight. Kevin and I got home late Saturday and Braelyn wasn't feeling well so we got her to bed only to have her join us and stat puking a few hours later. My parents had to leave early Sunday and we felt a little like we hadn't even seem them, but the girls had a wonderful time playing with them, and they doubled the amount of presents under our tree.

Sunday was the church Christmas program and Kevin and Braelyn were supposed to sing but because they were both sick we all missed out. I had felt a bit under the weather and by Sunday night was certain it was strep when my huge white tonsils felt like they were on fire. They don;t have an urgent care here, so we ended up at the emergency room. Yes I went to the ER for a sore throat. I have become one of those people who used to drive me crazy, but we were a little worried about Braelyn so we both got checked out and felt much better after some antibiotic, and were only there about an hour.

Monday we felt much better and we had our nativity family home evening. Braelyn loved hearing the story and played the part of Mary and I was Joseph. Kevin was the angel and innkeeper and Berkley was just in the way, and insisted that her teddy bear "Go bed!" in the manger. Braelyn liked it so much that we played nativity for the rest of the night and every day since.

Tuesday was our big baking day and I am happy to say we were almost totally successful. The divinity is going to take another try but overall everything turned out yummy.

I love this time of the year and am sad to see it pass so quickly, but am so grateful for the blessings we have, especially family and friends. We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!