It's Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! This has been a busy week so far, but it has been so fun. Caiti and Nate came in town to spend the holidays with family, and Megan and Brock and the kids are spending as much time as possible with family before they leave for Texas. Britt is out of school for a few weeks, but still has to work. At least she is not under as much stress, and can enjoy more family time, not locked up in her room doing homework. Jaten is spending more time here also, and spent the night on Christmas Eve. It is always a treat to see our children open their gifts on Christmas morning, but this year, a special treat as Rian and Maddox were here to open their gifts too! Rian was so excited to be able to rip open presents, and particularly liked the Princess pillow that Auntie Brittany got her. Maddox was getting into the ripping the paper thing, but loved the beanie hat we gave him . . . until he got to the blankie from Grandma. Clearly his favorite gift -- score! We feel so blessed to have our family around us - especially during this wonderful holiday season. We were able to talk with Weston this morning (serving his mission in Argentina) and then headed over to Jeff's Dad's house for Christmas morning breakfast. We were late, since we were on the phone so long with Weston, so most of the food was gone, but we still were able to visit with family for a bit. It is different without JoAnn, but Nancy, Barry's new wife, did a wonderful tribute to JoAnn. She gave each of Barry and JoAnn's children a beautiful ornament, a shell with a pearl in it, with a saying about how each life that touches ours leaves behind something beautiful. It was a sweet tribute to JoAnn and I appreciated her for doing that. It seems like our life and our family is always changing, but the one constant is the love we share for each other and for our Savior. Jeff and I are so grateful for all our Father in Heaven has seen fit to bless us with. We have a wonderful family of beautiful children. Two of our girls have wonderful husbands and we have the two most beautiful grand children in the whole world. We hope all of you are well, happy and healthy and have a wonderful Christmas season.