Christmas Grown Up

I will try to get a post up with Christmas pictures soon I promise. See, we have a memory problem with our computer at home and are constantly running on the lowest available disk space possible so uploading pictures to our computer at home isn't really an option. Anyone feeling bad for me right now and want to buy me an external hard drive, or a new computer? Yeah didn't think so. So until I find a place to upload those pictures I'll just post a (hopefully) quick recap of Christmas. And yes, I am ecstatic it is over!

We went down to my mom and dad's house on Christmas Eve and got a chance to stop by and see Kasidee, James and Bentlee for a minute. Oh my word that girl is adorable! I told Logan he needed to impress his future inlaws because he's going to have a LOT of competition. It was so good to see them and it made me realize I need to make a bigger effort to see my friends - they only live 45 minutes away - 2 minutes from my mom's house!

Lisa and Joe came over too and we had a great dinner. My mom always outdoes herself and even if she forgot the pineapple bread everyone was super stuffed on ham, 2 kinds of potatoes, broccoli, rolls and from scratch cheesecake. We watched a really cool movie about Christ coming to the Americas and Logan woke up so we knew it was present time. I think everyone was more than happy with the goods they got - I know I was. I got a kitchen slicer that I can't wait to use and used the money they gave me to buy a cute pair of boots (and another pair when I can find the right ones!). Dave got .17 bullets that he loves and bought some games for his Playstation with his money. Logan was spoiled with books and puzzles. We were so happy to get new books since we end up reading them over and over daily.

Unfortunately there was a storm brewing so we had to leave my mom's fairly early to head up to Panguitch. Logan fell asleep on the way there but woke up once we got there and there was no stopping him after that. We stayed up and played Mario Kart and Golf on the Playstation. I tried to put Logan down finally at about midnight and had no luck. There was no way he was sleeping with stuff still going on. I was upset and tired and finally took him out in the snow at 12:30 to get him to sleep. He finally did fall asleep after we drove around the snowy roads for 15 minutes. When we got back and I carried him through the door he woke back up! There was still too much going on but he finally fell asleep and had a restless sleep all night.

We woke up about 7:30 to open presents (too early!) and the boys had a great time even though they didn't want to give up their first gift to open the next ones. I got the perfume I had asked for and a gift card to the mall which I'm excited for and Dave got me the cutest pair of Etnies. He did AWESOME! Dave got more .17 bullets and a little tool set. Logan was spoiled with toys and clothes from grandma and grandpa and toys and a big spring horse from his mom and dad.

We went to the Veater family Christmas breakfast and tried to get Logan to take a nap. Nope! The kid couldn't do it with all the activity and people. The only nap he took was about 4:30 when we drove around for half an hour. When we took him back in the house, he was up and running again. For as little sleep as he got he was still surprisingly happy. He didn't get much sleep that night either. All the adults were watching Uncle Dusty's new movie, The Dark Knight and Logan couldn't sleep with that going on so I had to take him in the other room and hold him on the couch until it was over. I think it is the longest movie ever!

We made it home on Friday and I think everyone was relieved to be home. Dave got to open his present from me, a portable DVD player for camping and fires. I hope he liked it, he said he did but I know he really wanted the ammo/rifle safe for his gun safe. Logan finally napped and we've been recovering ever since.

I'm so thankful for Christmas and the opportunities it gives us to give and receive and think of the Savior. I know that pretty much anyone that was within blogging distance of me the last few weeks must think that I hate Christmas but I don't. I hate how stressful it can be when it should be a time for family and peace and gratitude. I am always grateful for everything I receive and of course for the chance we have to remember our greatest gift - but this year I also was able to realize how thankful I am for the opportunity that we have to grow and mature as well.

At Christmastime I always try to think back to the previous years and how things were different. When you're a kid Christmas is obviously all about you and its great and you think it couldn't be better any other way. I think Dave and I both figured out this year that Christmas is way better when it is all about someone else. This year Logan was old enough that we could really buy him some fun stuff and we loved it. Don't get me wrong I am so thankful for all the great stuff I got, but watching him love his new toys and books is awesome. Christmas is not about tallying the gifts we did or didn't receive, but for for giving and being grateful for what we have. Besides that revelation this year I have noticed that I've gotten better at holding my tongue. There were opportunities that I could have said things or done things to cause more contention but I didn't. For those of you that know me well, that's saying a lot! This last year has been great and challenging at times, like every other year, but it is rewarding to see that this time I have actually learned something from it.

I hope everyone that we were able to visit with over the holidays know how much we appreciate and love them and all they do for us. I also hope that those of you we haven't seen in months and years also know how much we love and miss you. We look forward to a new year with new challenges, new blessings and new opportunities to grow.

So much for SHORT!