CCCHHHRRRIIIISSTTTMMAAASSSS!!!! I Love Christmas. I Love everything about it. My kids are still going around 3 weeks later singing Jingle Bells. It makes me so happy. We had such a beautiful Christmas season. And Christmas Eve and Christmas Day just topped it off. Christmas Eve we invited Toby's family over to our house for a fun "Christmas Brunch". We had a fun brunch planned of a hashbrown and egg caserole, cinnamon roll waffles, belgian waffles, yogurt, orange juice, hot chocolate, and fruit. We enjoyed eating together and then went into the living room where Toby had a wonderful lesson for us and we sang Christmas carols. Then we all went to the movie Arthur Christmas...which was pretty cute. After we came back here and just relaxed together. We were so happy to have them over and loved our time together. It was very Christmasy:) Then we headed over to my parents where we had a wonderful dinner together and our new tradition a "Christmas Toast" started by my dad of course. We went downstairs together and had a wonderful time each sharing a thought about Christ (my Dad had previously asked us to do so). It was so great hearing a spiritual thought from each person in my family. One of my very favorite parts of Christmas Eve. Then my Mom gave each of the Grandchildren their tradition Gift of Christmas P.J.'s. The KIDS ABSOLUTELY love THIS. - After we came home and made sure that Santa had milk and cookies, the reindeer had carrots, and we spread our magic Reindeer food out on the grass. Then the kids went up to sleep on our bed (we all sleep together) and we put on our traditional Polar Express movie to fall asleep to. Perfect night. Sorry...should have put a LONG POST warning before this. Christmas morning was SO FUN!!! The kids were so excited to see cookies and carrots gone and Santa's footprint down the stairs. We ran downstairs and I'll never forget the kids having their two seperate piles of gifts...but Cash running straight to Elle's and saying things like "This is so great elle! I Love this Elle! You got just what you wanted Elle!" He is such a good little boy. We had to make him look over to his pile. They had such a good time opening their gifts. My parents have started a new tradition of giving all the grandkids breakfast boxes for them to eat on Christmas morning. They were the CUTEST box lunches in a santa and reindeer box and they were full of things like yogurt, little boxes of cereal, chocolate milk, and an orange. What a fun tradition that the kids thought was so exciting. After breakfast we went to Church, which I thought was so appropriate to be able to celebrate Christmas on a Sunday. Following church we headed over to Christensen's and opened gifts and had a wonderful meal...then headed over to my house where we did more of the same. It really was such a special day. One last thought...which I thought about a lot throughout the month of December. I am SO gratful for two parents who LOVE this Holiday so much. They don't just love one aspect of this Holiday. They love it all. And from the day I was born they made it all so magical for me and I've tried so hard to do the same for my kids. They instilled in me the importance of not just celebrating Christ birth but celebratin his life. We have so many spiritual teaching moments throughout this month and I love the spirit they bring into their home. But then they love the fun part and the mgic of "SANTA" and everything else. I'm so grateful for the traditions they started that make Christmas..Christmas. They have made our family so close and have given us something to look forward to day after day in the month of December. I don't know why these traditions mean so much to me but they do...that's all. Just thanks Mom and Dad for teaching me what Christmas is really all about. Already looking forward to 335 days from now:)
Just another post to document Cash and his adventures with trips to the doctor. About two weeks ago Toby had to go out of town for work. OF COURSE all of this happened while he was gone. We have a ritual that when Tob is gone the kids get to sleep in bed with me. It's more for me then them...I really dislike being alone. So one night I can tell Cash is starting to come down with a little something and after the whole seizure thing I wanted him right next to me in bed. In the middle of the night he was coughing so hard and his breathing was so shallow that I honestly didn't think he was getting much air. I felt like he couldn't catch his breath. First thing in the morning I called his doctor and asked if we could come right in. As soon as we got there the on call doctor (it was a weekend) listened to his chest and immediately said I'm not hearing air passing through, he's having a pretty bad asthma attack. SO they gave him a breathing treatment listened again and it hadn't improved. Then gave him a steroid and sent us home with the treatment and we did it again and then they had me go back in to listen. Wasn't much better so they sent us down to get an x ray and didn't see anything too alarming with that so decided to send us home and have us come back in the morning and just watch him close overnight. I stopped by my moms on the way home and while I was there the doctor called me and said he hadn't stopped thinking of Cash and really felt like we needed to go up to Primary Childrens. I was so tired from being at the doctor all day with both kids and no husband but knew I better take him up since Cash was still breathing hard and coughing a ton and the doctor felt so strong. SO up to Primary's we went...Jordan went with me and my mom stayed back to take care of Elle. We were up there most the night and it was so nice to have so many doctors and nurses taking such good care of him. At one point Cash even said, "mom everybody up here really cares about me." SO SO sweet. When they asked him if they could get him anything he replied with, "Ya an orange slushee please." They laughed and said, "Oh I can see you've been here before!" Which he has:) They gave him a few massive treatments of albuterol to get him through the attack and by morning was SO much better. Tob had a hard time being away during the whole ordeal but I knew we could handle it... and Elle was so sweet to look after him and really wanted to make him a plate of rice crispie treats to help him get better. He was so brave during all of his breathing treatments even though he didn't like them at all. (We had to do them every four hours for two days even after we got home) I couldn't help taking pictures cause he looked so cute under there. We love this kid more than words can say. He's a trooper!!!
