Christmas 2014

(Note to self: Next year, I need to get my camera out for Christmas activities! Thankfully Kathy took some pictures! I only took a few of the toys. Slacker!)

Besides the Christmas 8 years ago when Mitch proposed, this was my favorite Christmas to date. The kids are both at such fun ages for Santa Claus and the magic of it all! I felt the true spirit of Christmas this year as we made an effort to focus on Christ and service. We gave some old toys and new clothes to a family in need, we delivered presents to our neighbors and friends, made Christmas cards for grandparents, made and decorated a felt snowman, walked through the Layton city Christmas lights, saw some more lights with friends, and participated other activities as well during the season.

We made gingerbread houses at the Botts.

And I can honestly say that for the first time in many years, I was not stressed or anxious about the holidays! (Thank you, Anti-depressants! :) )

In December we had the Miles Christmas party with my dad's side of the family. We did an ugly Christmas sweater contest, which Mitch won (thanks to our neighbor who let us borrow his home-made advent calendar sweater), and Santa came to visit! The kids loved Santa of course; Layla was the first one to sit on his lap and wouldn't stop talking his ear off. Marcus was scared of Santa this year, so he sat on my lap as I sat on Santa's lap. Also, the highlight of the party was when my grandma Miles told Santa that all she wanted for Christmas was "a kiss from Santa," so he gave her a kiss on the cheek, then pointed to his cheek and as she went to kiss him on the cheek he turned his head and she kissed him smack on the lips!

Layla drew this herself!

For several months before Christmas, Layla had added items to her mile-long Christmas list almost daily. About two weeks before Christmas the one thing she said consistently she wanted from Santa was "a firetruck that makes noise and has people on it." So we had to get that kind of last minute after searching for just the right one. :) It was worth it though because she was excited about it on Christmas morning.


On Christmas Adam (the day before Christmas Eve, ha ha), Layla and I made cookies for Santa. We tried a new recipe and made eggnog flavored cookies, which were delicious (note to self: do not buy light eggnog- it's just not the same)! We had family home evening that night where we read some scriptures that focused on "gifts" the Savior has given us and we also read the Christmas story from the Bible in Luke 2. I loved that we were able to focus so much on the birth of Christ as a family.

We spent Christmas Eve with Mitch's family and had a very nice dinner and a fun time opening gifts. Kevin and Kathy gave Marcus a pair of Mickey Mouse slippers that he absolutely loved! We put them on him and he seriously did a little jig and kept excitedly yelling and showing everyone his slippers. It was adorable and my favorite part of the night. We were all spoiled and had a great time.

Too cute not to post.

Katie and I got matching jammies!

I didn't sleep well that night because I was so excited for the kids to wake up and see what Santa brought them! We told Layla not to come out of her room until 7:00 am. Marcus woke up at 6:00 am, which is unusual for him, and it seemed like he knew what was going on because he was excited and wanted to go out into the living room. I kept him in our room with us until a few minutes before 7 when we snuck him into the kitchen and gave him a banana (his favorite!) for breakfast while waiting for Layla to wake up. Finally at 6:59 I couldn't take it any more and went and woke her up. I said, "Merry Christmas, Layla" and she kind of rolled over and groggily said, "Merry Christmas." Then she sat straight up in bed and loudly said, "Is it morning yet?!?" I told her yes and that she should look out her window (we went to bed on Christmas Eve with not a trace of snow on the ground and woke up to this:), but she refused and said, "No, let's go see what Santa brought!"


I'm learning that Layla, while she is excited, is not the type to jump up and down and yell and cheer about things. She is very mellow, but you can hear the excitement in her voice. Marcus, however, will be my loud one. :) It was a fun morning spent playing with their presents and opening gifts to and from each other. Santa brought our family Nerf guns and extra darts and we had some fun Nerf gun wars! Those guns are one of my favorite gifts this year. :). We headed down to my grandma's and had a delicious breakfast (my grandma is an amazing cook!) followed by being spoiled with more gifts! Everyone got the kids perfect gifts this year! Layla got lots of art supplies, dress ups, and little activities to keep her busy. Marcus got lots of little boy toys that he loves and he finally has toys that he'll actually play with!



We came home for nap time, followed by a visit from the Botts, including a Nerf gun war with Brandon and Katie, which made my jaw hurt from laughing. The next day was a visit from my grandpa Kermit and Zing, and later my mom and grandma. We had a very busy, and very fun, few days and the kids slept so good for several nights afterwards! Ha!

The only pic I could get with Layla; she was too busy to pose for pictures!

My favorite part about Christmas is having Mitch home with us! He get Christmas Eve through New's Years off and it is wonderful! I love our little family and spending time together! I am so grateful for the birth of our Savior and what His life means to me. Merry Christmas!