Merry Christmas 2011!

One hour after I went to bed, the kids awoke and were ready for their Christmas gifts! I was able to hold them off until 6:30 am but then realized that the boys kept sneaking out to the living room and already knew what their big presents were so we concluded that we were missing all of the excitement and needed to get up and capture it at its best!

Christmas is magical for us with our children at their current ages. They all believe. Really believe. And I love that. We took our pre-present-opening shot and then let Alyssa see her gifts first! Then Austin, Jax, Taylor and Carson. Each child was so excited! Santa brought Alyssa a play kitchen, princess dress ups and a little princess lunch box for her lip gloss (which she carries around everywhere). Mom and Dad gave her some dress up shoes, books and some games. Austin got a new bike, helmet and some PS3 games from Santa. Mom and Dad gave him some movies and games. Jaxson got his dream of getting a motor scooter! Santa also brought him a clay molding gadget and a movie. Mom and Dad gave him some pants and games. Taylor bug got some hair irons, movies, boots and Beauty and the Beast barbies from Santa. Mom and dad gave her an iTouch and a cover for it. She was in heaven!

A trail of reindeer droppings from the bedrooms to the living room!

After gifts, we ate some Peach French Toast with raspberry topping and whipped cream - a total hit with the Lindsay grandparents and Cindy- and by 10:00am, I was physically SICK since I had only had 1 hour of sleep. I quickly jumped into bed and was able to doze until noon. I had to accompany Karyn at church and we hadn't even practiced. I showered, got ready and raced down to the church house, hoping that my eyes would be able to focus through the cloud of sleepy haze enough to accompany her correctly. Church was incredible! The music was sincere, uplifting and very spiritual. We came home and played with our gifts until 7:15pm. I was spent so I put everyone to bed! :)

I am so grateful for the birth of our Savior, the greatest gift of all. I am so in love with my family! I love them with all my heart. I cherish every holiday we are able to spend together as a family.

Merry Christmas to all
and to all a goodnight!

Christmas Eve Night: the night that never ended

Twas The Night Before Christmas.......

The kids, Carson and I drove home from Grandma Barbie and Popie's house while rocking out to some non-Christmas music. I told them they had to get to sleep fast so that Santa would come (since Santa arrives in Utah between 1-5am). We posed in front of the tree for our annual picture and the kids were off to bed and to go to sleep.

Or so we hoped.

After Dave and Aunt Cindy arrived, the kids kept coming out. Taylor kept saying that her heart was racing so we told her to relax and try to fall asleep. And then Jax came out. And then Carson. And then Taylor. (Do you see where I'm going?). At 12:30am or so, Taylor was in tears about her heart so my husband took her vitals and called the ER because her heart rate was too high. Dave and Taylor took off to the ER while Cindy wrapped gifts and I began assembling the play kitchen from Neverland. Dave called around 1:15am and said that Taylor was hooked up to an IV and they were doing tests on her kidneys etc. I kept saying little prayers that everything would be okay for her. And kept working on the kitchen assembly. Dave called around 2:00am and said that the test results came back normal and the doctor said she might just be dehydrated. They arrived home around 2:30am (Cindy was still wrapping and I was still assembling the darn kitchen set). Taylor was still pretty upset and uncomfortable so she came out to the living room every 10 minutes until 4:15am (at this point, Cindy was off to bed and I was still assembling the #&$#& kitchen). In the end, I was off to bed at 4:50am. What a night!

Lindsay Family Christmas Eve Party

Throughout the day, I baked and prepared for the 25th so I could have a non-stressful day. Around 5:00pm, we loaded the kids plus cousin Carson in the suburban and headed over to Popie and Grandma Barbie's house for our annual Christmas Eve celebration.

The house was festive and smelled of sweet ham. There is always great food with the Lindsays as well. :) While waiting for the rest of the family to arrive, we had fun visiting with Brittany and her new husband, Brandon. Dinner was ham, potatoes, rolls, salads and yummy appetizers (brie cheese with crackers and hot jelly and Cheri's homemade salsa too).

After dinner, we gathered and listened to Cindy talk about the symbolism of gift giving before diving into the presents. Our kids get spoiled rotten every year at this party....seriously! Grandma gives them each 3 really nice presents and then each one of their aunts generally gives them a present so they come away with quite a loot. It took several hours to open gifts. Afterward pie and then headed home