It has been an eventful holiday. One filled with lots of action and many memories. Here are a few of the highlights:
Grandpa and Grandma Baldwin came to our house the Thursday before Christmas. They were greeted with very excited grandchildren. We all had a great time with them here, and we are glad they decided to come and celebrate Christmas with us.
For Christmas this year, Stephen was really anxious for me to put presents under the tree. I usually avoid this because it seems I spend all of my time re wrapping gifts. I ended up giving each person in our family a name of a reindeer – and only I knew who was who. The man handling of presents was eliminated because they didn’t know which gift was for who! Because the older kids left them alone, Olivia did a pretty good job too. Plus, she had 5 police protecting the presents.
On Sunday, I pulled out a present (which contained a new outfit for church) for each “reindeer” from under the tree. We started with Olivia. She got to pick out which gift she thought was for her. We were all excited that she chose her own “Comet”. Lily chose to unwrap “Dancer”, who we found out was Alexis. She then tried “Prancer” and that was for her! Mason decided to go with “Cupid”, because I told him I tried to be tricky. And we all discovered, with one gift left, that Stephen would be “Rudolph.” I was “Blitzen”.
Monday, Christmas Eve, we went to the annual Burton Christmas Dance. There is a live band playing Christmas tunes, and people and children dance or walk around a decorated Christmas tree that they put in the center of the cultural hall. I have been going to this dance off and on since I was a little girl. It was very nostalgic for me once again. Santa Claus comes toward the end of the dance and the children wait in line to tell him what they would like. He gives them a brown paper bag with an orange, peanuts, and misc. candy. This has also never changed since I was little.
That evening my dad was in charge of a special Christmas Family Home Evening – also a family tradition for me. This year we watched the “Joy to the World” DVD and read our favorite scripture that testifies of Jesus Christ. Lex and Mason even came up with their own scripture! My dad talked about the stripling warriors and about their valiance. He then passed out a gift for each person to help us remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas. Lily and Olivia received a choose the right bracelet, Stephen and Mason received a Stripling Warrior tie, and Alexis and I received a necklace. I appreciate so very much the testimony of my dad – this was a special night for me.
Christmas morning was typical – see individual kid blogs. We enjoyed a lazy day – I didn’t get out of my p.j.s until 4:00 pm. We had a Christmas dinner and then invited Bruce and Sharon and Paul over to play games. We had fun playing Apples to Apples, Cadoo, Speed Scrabble, and Grunt Piggy Grunt. Stephen got a fancy camera from Santa and hasn’t stopped taking pictures! He is up to 1740 photos since Christmas day!
My parents gave us all money for Christmas. Because of this, I was anxious to take the kids out in the madness and find a good deal the day after Christmas. We ended up in Idaho Falls at Kohls. My parents came too. Each child found a treasure and because Grandma was there – we got an extra 15% off! Senior Citizen discount.
Many various happenings occurred in the following days – all including relaxation and fun. We celebrated my mom’s birthday because they were planning on leaving on the actual day. Stephen was also excited about plowing the driveway because of all the snow! This can take up to an hour in a half per time, but he loves every minute.
Stephen’s family started trailing in last Friday. Our kids have had loads of fun sledding down Grandpa and Grandma Parkers Luge. Stephen tried snowboarding out for the first time on a trip to Kelly Canyon with the boys, and found out he might have found a new hobby – he had lots of fun despite a few crashes.
Saturday Evening we were able to go to the Open House for the Rexburg Temple. It is so beautiful and was wonderful to be there with family. We are so lucky to have a temple so close by!
The Parker Parents spoke in church yesterday before departing on their mission to Lisbon, Portugal. They did an excellent job and will be wonderful missionaries. Of course we have been partying all weekend and plan to do so again tonight for New Year’s Eve. Last night the kids got to open up their presents from Grandpa and Grandma – a pair of new cute pajamas! Unborn J.T. even received a pair! He will get to match Mason, pretty cool.
As you can tell we have had a very fun filled holiday vacation!
Comments:
Mom Baldwin said…
We had such a great time at your house for Christmas! Thanks for the invitation. We enjoyed all our time spent there and specially the magic the kids brought to the forefront.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008 8:56:23 AM
Mom Baldwin said…
Stephen, you sure know how to use that new camera. Great pictures! Great memories!
Tuesday, January 08, 2008 9:06:44 AM
Amy Baldwin said…
I think I have some pics of Brad on Santa’s lap at the Burton Christmas party when he was younger.
Jodi, you’re a pretty awesome mom with all of the fun traditions that you come up with.
Saturday, January 12, 2008 12:32:38 AM