Christmas Day

Christmas was wonderful this year. The fact that we celebrate the birth of the Savior all month makes it wonderful. But this year, was particularly good. I love watching my kids grow. While it's sad watching the young stage of our family fade, having older kids has been so much fun. We didn't have any tears or frustrations this year. Everyone was extremely grateful and kind. The boys all got along and didn't argue. It was amazing. 

We spent Christmas Eve with Dave and Cheryl and Scott's family. We played lots of games, decorated gingerbread cakes, visited with Grandma and Grandpa Great, and opened gifts. We laughed all day and my heart felt so content. I love being a Packard. Scott's family truly feels like my own. The highlight for me was visiting Grandpa Great. He is 91 now and bedridden. Sometimes he's aware of his surroundings and others times he's not. But on Christmas Eve, he knew us. Maybe only for a few minutes, but he called me my name and told me what a great job I was doing as a mother. He told me I was beautiful and that he loved me. Grandpa Great was the first to welcome me into the family with open arms and I will always be thankful for him and love him like my own. We sang him carols and he sang along with a few. It was the best. 

As usual, we spent Christmas morning at our house. The boys slept in until 7:00 and we started gifts at 7:30. It was a slow and lazy morning, just like I like it. My mom, dad, and Grandma Karlson stopped by in the afternoon and hung out with us for a little while. I love that they come to us so we don't have to get dressed and pack the kids up. My Grandma and Grandpa Mennear used to do the same thing when I was growing up and my parents have continued the tradition. 

The Sunday after Christmas we went to my mom's for dinner and to exchange gifts with my sister. Per tradition, we played the candy bar game and had a blast doing it. My kids love being with my parents and I love that they share traditions with them. 

It was a great Christmas. I appreciate my life so much. This time of year, I always contemplate my blessings. I have an amazing husband and four wonderful boys. Scott has a great job that has allowed us to live near family. It's so easy living in Idaho Falls and I feel my roots growing deeper and deeper here. Our neighborhood is the best and our house is a home that keeps us safe and protected. We each have warm beds with lots of blankets and food on the table. Our cars provide us transportation and the boys get to go to school. And to top it all off, Heavenly Father gave his son. Because of the birth of the Savior, we have a perfect example to follow. We can make mistakes over and over and still live with him again as a family. Its so hard not to feel incredibly blessed. 

Christmas Cookies

 Remember last year, when I didn't make sugar cookies and everyone was mad? I didn't make that mistake again and I am so glad. We had such a good time decorating together. There was one minute when a beautiful Christmas song was playing, the kids were laughing and decorating and I just felt an incredible amount of joy. I could have paused that moment and stayed there forever. It was incredible. 

Basement Demolition

 It's just not break without a little project. And by little, I mean tearing down half the basement. We have had plans to connect the basement to the spare bedroom for a couple of years and decided this was a great time to start. Because we didn't know if the wall was load-bearing or not, we had to follow our plan backward. Originally, we wanted to finish the spare bedroom and then connect it to the family room. But we had to tear down the wall first, so we'll be living in a construction zone for a while. We don't mind though. We are loving the extra space and can't wait to see it finished. Scott is such a handyman man and I love watching him work. If he doesn't know how to do something, he watches youtube and figures it out. I mean seriously, my husband is as good as they come. 

Christmas Jar

We were a little disappointed with our lack of Christmas Jar funds this year. The amount was so small, we didn't have to take it to a coin counter. Cache and Kyle counted it for us. We ended up with about $15 and Scott always matches it, so we had a total of  $30 this year. Our ward was having a Christmas party and asking for donations to go to the local Ronald McDonald house and we used our money to buy Kool-Aid packs to donate. 

Even though our money was small, the impact will be great. We are happy we were able to help a family in need, even if it is only a little. The kids are recharged for this year and are aiming to collect a bit more money.