Merry Christmas

A few weeks before Christmas, Bryce and I decided that we want to start a new tradition in our family; we want to do some sort of service for others during the season and be more mindful of others needs; So, Jacqui and I made Christmas goodies and we took the kids along to one of our local rest homes where most of the residents are in wheel chairs or have ventilators. I really thought the kids would be a little scared when we got there, but they were great and were very interactive and talkative with the people. We sang Christmas songs to some of the residents and visited with them. It was humbling to see the tears in their eyes as our little ones sang to them and gave them treats; one young lady who had on a ventilator and could hardly talk, caught Clayton's eye in the back of the room and she really wanted to see him. I brought him up to her so she could see him up close. She was so excited to talk to me about him. It was neat to see how grateful they were to have us come visit them. But, I think we were the ones that were blessed to spend that evening with them. They are amazing people and it was a great experience for each of us. We spent Christmas Eve over at Jacqui and Jareds home. We ate Chicken Pot Pie for dinner and then we read the story about the birth of Christ in the scriptures. We talked to the kids about the true meaning of Christmas and about why we even receive or give gifts for Christmas. Then we heard some bells ringing and the kids found a note in the tree from Jingle Bell (Santa's elf). He brought them some pajamas for Christmas Eve. The kids were so excited.

Clayton woke me up at 7:30 on Christmas morning. I think he was excited to see what he got for Christmas, so I went and woke up Bryce and Cooper. Cooper ran downstairs, looked around, came back up and asked me, "Did the real Santa come last night?" "Yes, Why? I asked. "Because I asked for baby puppies for Christmas and there aren't any down there." Thank goodness Santa doesn't always give us what we ask for!
Santa brought Cooper a Nintendo DS and some games to go along with it. He also got a Fur Real little puppy that barks from my friend Bekka. He named it Hot Chocolate and thought it was so cute.We went to grandma and grandpa Coopers for lunch and see everyone. It looked like everyone had a good Christmas and that Santa came to visit them all!