Christ is Born Today

 Christmas morning was well, crazy. We had Church service that morning with the all three wards that meet in our building. I am that mom who made their kids wait till after church to open presents. I totally planned it by having the kids write a note to Santa the night before. Then Santa left them a note in the morning letting the kids know that the elves would bring their presents while we were at church. It worked out really well. I knew that if we opened presents before church there was no way we were going to get there, and if there is one Sunday out of the year we have to attend it it Christmas Sunday. 

Church was wonderful. Three speakers spoke, one on how we should always say Christmas and not say Xmas because it is Christ's birth we are celebrating. One spoke of repentance/perservering/the atonement/ a personal account of a situation with a co-worker that really made her think about how to be Christ like. It was very inspiring. And the third talk I cannot remember which is a shame, because she is my friend. Oh well. I am blaming it on the kids or eating cookies we brought for the munch and mingle afterwards. 

We came home, and as Santa promised, the elves had brought all our Christmas gifts while we were at church. The kids were ecstatic. Henry was especially cute when he would open a present and scream for joy. Ellen said that this was one of the faster Christmas present openings she has been a part of for a while. Welcome to the world of children. They could not open their gifts fast enough. 

Our tradition for Christmas dinner is Indian food. I thought it was kind of a flop this year. Ellen, who has never really had Indian food, said it was good and Lyndon ate it. We could not find all the correct ingredients. Note to ourselves: feta cheese does not really work as a substitute for paneer. Lesson learned. And another note to self: store bought cakes look much better than they taste. We bought a log cake from one of the local bakeries and it looked much better than it tasted. But now I know, and I no longer have the desire to try one.





I loved having Ellen with us for Christmas. I love my sisters so much.












He dosen't know how to read yet, the problem may be the way he is holding the book, but he sure does love his books.
Our Christmas cake. Looks so much better than it actually was. 

Raphael's Santa present was a hit with everyone. It was Duplo's around the world Lego set. "Santa" has been wanting to get it for him for a while. And I had a lot of fun building it with the kids. It was fun to put together the different scenes from the different countries, and build a zoo as the kids were calling it.

Holidays for parents are a lot of work, especially for the mommas out there. I was exhausted and took an impromptu five hour nap before bed. All the work that I put into Christmas this year was totally worth it. Cosette was so excited about her yoyo, which made my trekking to about six different toy stores to find one, worth all the effort. Henry screams of delight when he opened every present and went to bed with his new truck and Star Wars ships, makes all the work worth it. Taking care of these humans is my job, one that I do not always delight in, but one that I am made complete by. I try so hard to find all the joy in the long days, and sometimes I do just want the holiday to be over, which makes me mad at myself because I want to enjoy the moments. It's complicated to say the least. I love my little family so much. I try really hard to make sure they know that I love them. 

I thought a lot about Mary and Joseph on Christmas. Thinking about the excitement and anticipation that comes with the birth of a new baby. They must have been so so excited and happy for baby Jesus. I was thinking about the days my children were born and how wonderful and joyful it was when I got to hold them in my arms. Especially when Raphael was born. His birth is most recent in my memory. We had not completely decided on a name, but the moment I held him in my arms for the first time I was so filled with joy I was crying. And I knew that his name was Raphael. Reflecting on my own birth experiences and thinking about baby Jesus made me so full of joy. Christmas is his birthday. Mary must have been overjoyed to have him in her arms. What a wonderful day/night it must have been. It made me wanted to have a huge party to celebrate the Savior's birth. Seriously "Joy to the World"! It made the holiday come more alive for me in the spiritual sense than ever before. 

It was a very Merry Christmas. 

Good Christians all rejoice, with heart and soul and voice! Give ye heed to what we say: Christ was born today! Ox and ass before him bow; and he is in the manger now. Christ is born today! Christ is born today!

(Valentin Triller)

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