God Bless Us Everyone!

Our Christmas this year was great. We were more than a little sad we would not be celebrating it in Idaho but we had a great time out here. I had all of the shopping done before Monday the 21st so the last week was spent just having fun. We made snowflakes and cookies, and chocolate covered pretzels. We went to a party for the BYU bowl game. When went to a live nativity at a baptist church up the street and to the Christmas lights at the temple. We sipped hot chocolate and read Christmas stories. It was just so fun.
I think what I have like most about this Christmas is being able to read the stories, from a book my mom gave me a few years ago, by the light of Christmas tree each night before the girls went to bed. When you don't have places you have to be, you have time to do little things like that.
Scott and I spent weekend before Christmas finishing up homemade gifts. He would burn videos on the computer while I made the girls baby carriers. It was just so fun. And we listened to Christmas music and talked about past Christmases. I know it sounds lame but we really were straight out of movie.
On Christmas Eve we did a Nazareth night, Scott's families tradition. Kayt was Mary, she has been prepping for the role all month. Ella was a Sheppard. I was the angel and Scott was Joseph and the Wise men. Kayt was insistent that we act out the Christmas story as Scott read it. I am glad she was. It was so nice and calming and really helped us focus on Christ.
Then it was opening up Christmas P.J.'s and off to bed. I still get excited to open the present on Christmas eve, even though I know exactly what it will be. Scott's grandma gave us our Christmas p.j.'s this year and they were perfect.
Kayt was so excited she could not sleep. Every sound she heard shot her straight up in bed, peeking out the window. She was so concerned about going to sleep she couldn't go to sleep. Scott finally had to go in a lay by her and rub her hands to get her to calm down.
Much to Kayt's excitement Santa came to the Smith house! Kayt and Ella were so excited. It was so great to watch their eyes pop as they saw what Santa had left. They are both so pleased with the simplest things. I wish we didn't loose that along the way. Every little detail was the coolest things they had ever seen. They were extra kind and sensitive all day. Ella literally did not stop hopping around until she went down for a nap around 3pm. It was so sweet.
Later that day Cody and Skye Beckley our good friends that live in Maryland came down to spend the day. They had Christmas dinner with us and spent the night. We played games and ate treat and watched movies. It was great.
Saturday we went to Annapolis, Maryland. It is the coolest place I have been out here for sure so far. I loved it, even though it was raining the whole time. It is so old and right on the harbor and so quaint it was awesome. We ate a place called Sofi's crepery and checked out the navel academy and boats on the water. It was so fun. After Annapolis we sadly parted ways. We love the Beckley's. Again, they are our family away from family!!
We finished our Saturday at the Frost's home, one of Scott's mission companions and good friends of ours. They invited us to the big Christmas feast with his whole family. It was great to see them Ryan and Alie again.
Finally, Sunday was our ward Christmas program. I started singing we the ward choir and have loved it. I really like to sing. It has helped me get to know more people as well. The music was beautiful, the spirit was strong and the meeting was made perfect by Scott's fabulous talk! HE was bit intimidates being the only speaker on the Christmas program and coming after, Jenny Baker a super accomplished Violinist played Ave Maria and the choir sang and wonderful vocal solos and....But Scott did fantastic. His message was so simple; each of us needs to decide each day to let Christ into our lives. We each get to decide if we are going to get caught up in the details of running our lives or if we are going to step back out of the wind and feel the love of God.
All in all, it was a fantastic Christmas, filled with the glow of Christmas. We had time to do the little things, visit some widows in the ward, go to nativities, read good stories, sing the Christmas songs, talk with family, watch Christmas shows. Just enjoy each other and remember Jesus. We are so blessed.

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