Christmas Day 2009!

Its lovely to wake up at 9 am on Christmas morning! I don't know how much longer it will last, but we are loving it in the mean time! :) The first step of Christmas morning enjoyment: dumping out your stocking!
Santa also left a scooter for Jacob! He was so surprised - and very happy!
For a special Christmas gift, Michael gave Jacob one of his Star Wars Lego sets that he and Jacob loved to build together - the B Wing! Jacob was so excited, and it was so sweet to see how thankful and touched he was that his daddy would give him something that he had from a long time ago. It was a sweet surprise!
My brother Jerry shocked us all by giving us a Wii! Jacob was also excited to get more Lego's from Grandma and his cousin Kayla
Jacob's first Transformer!
He is really just rubbing his eyes here, but the picture is funny. We do love Hi Ho Cherry-O...

After the gifts were unwrapped it was that lovely time when everyone is busy enjoying their fun gifts and having a good time.

I made a big breakfast with some new recipes...it was so good, we made them a new tradition! :)
We had to try out the Wii, of course. Jacob loved tennis and bowling. Thank heaven for the safety straps ;), he was really getting into it!
And of course, the phone calls to all the ones we love and could not be with due to geographical issues...hopefully that wont be the case next year.
We had a wonderful Christmas together. We even had snow for the first time in several years. It was great! I love my little family so much, and I am truly thankful for the things they teach me and the many ways they make me laugh and learn to enjoy life in simple ways. This Christmas was a perfect example of that.

Christmas Eve with the Clifford Family

This year we spent Christmas Eve with my family at my parents house. All the siblings that live here in town gathered for a fun dinner and nativity play. We all had a blast! Dinner was potluck style, and we had pizza, Chinese food, and even caviar. There was a lot of laughing and good conversation.

After dinner the kids gathered downstairs and got dressed up in their costumes for the Nativity play. Jacob was Joseph :). Quite a happy Joseph!
Tess played Mary, and even had her own little baby for her part.
Before we could get started, my dad played fun Christmas carol's for the kids and they played a while. I had no idea the shepherds had seen Star Wars - I guess anything can be a light saber.
The evening would not be complete without our Christmas Ballerina :). This is Sabella's first Christmas!
Joseph and Mary on their way to Bethlehem...
finally making it to the "stable" :), and welcoming the baby Jesus.
The surprised shepherds when they saw the angel :) (Tyler, Loren, Jocelyn and little Lucy)
Everyone gathered to see the baby Jesus. It was really sweet to see the tiny ones crawl or walk over to see the baby, they were so excited!
Loren played one of the wise men, and decided to give his character something different by leaning on a cane and pretending his lower leg was missing...apparently Joseph was quite curious about it (haha!).
The kids had a great time. Jacob loved being with cousins. They put on a wonderful show!
After the play each family performed a Christmas song. Jason and Katie sang "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" :).
Joseph and Barbara's family performed a classic Christmas song I had not heard before. It was really fun! All the kids had all the verses memorized.
We sang "Away In A Manger", then Gary rapped "The Night Before Christmas" while Rachel and my mom danced and made funny sound effects. It was hilarious!
It was a wonderful night! We went home and got in pajamas, read the Christmas story from the Scripture Reader by the light of the Christmas Tree. Then we set out the treats and milk for Santa and read The Night Before Christmas just before bed. I love Christmas Eve! Its magical and exciting and full of joy. Having an amazing family makes it the best!

Jacob the Nephite!

Our Ward had a great Christmas party Saturday night! The theme was Christmas in the Land of Nephi. We all had great Mexican food (yum!) and the presentation was great! Part of the presentation involved the Primary kids. They have been learning the song "Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus" for the event. Before the presentation began we took all the Primary kids to a room and they dressed them up as Nephite children. Jacob was so excited! He got a headband and wristbands.

The kids did a wonderful job, and the whole night was a lot of fun! We love our Ward. It was a great way to start off our season!