The Sunday before Christmas in our ward was really great. Tara and Boston spoke and my goodness they did a beautiful job. Tara's whole focus was just on Christ and the relationship we need to build with Him and His character and it was just so incredibly beautiful. I loved it. After church our plan was to go and visit Jake down in his recovery center in Parowan but we got a phone call that told us visiting hours ended at 5 and we would only get 20 minutes with him no exceptions. I was so sad and bummed because I really wanted to see him for Christmas and we had gifts for him etc so I wasn't sure what to do. It's a 3 hour drive down there and 3 hours back so that's a long ways to go for such a short visit. I asked the kids what they thought and honestly they didn't even hesitate. Elle said of course we still want to go. My heart grew 3 sizes. I was so proud of them. What great kids I have. And I was so thankful for Toby who was more than willing to make the drive. When we got there Elle jumped out of the car and ran right over to him and threw her arms around him in a big hug. It was so cute. The rest of the family was just getting ready to leave so we got him to ourselves for a bit. He was so cute and went upstairs to make us all sandwiches but I didn't want to waste any time visiting. He told us how his days go which are spent waking up at 5:30 am ( he hates his alarm clock and wants to break it) and he says they spend a lot of time talking about "their feelings". hahah the kids thought that was hilarious. It was hard to say goodbye but I know he is where he needs to be.
The next day we took the kids to Ross for their annual shopping for each other. This always is so dang cute to me and cracks me up. They all split up and walk around the store finding things each other would like and doing their best to hide them from each other. I love it.
We also did Christmas in Color monday night and drove to the Night Before Christmas Street and around to see some of the lights.
Then Tuesday was my MOST FAVORITE DAY EVER. We told the kids we had a surprise for them and to pile in the car. We put on Christmas music and drove over an hour through provo canyon and on to Midway. There we pulled up to the cutest little restaurant where outside there were 3 or 4 "globes" people were eating in. Elle said that would be so fun to eat in there. Surprise! We had reserved one and honestly it was the most MAGICAL little eating experience I'd ever had! We had the best breakfast with crepes, hot chocolate, yummy sodas, and omelets and bagels. It was so delicious. Toby put some music on and we sang and laughed and the snow fell around us. I wanted time to stand still. Kemp danced around and after some convincing Tate did too. We had warm blankets and a beautiful light and the whole things was just so perfect. I hope we can do this every year because I loved every second of it.
Before we left we had filled the car with all the coats and all the stuffed animals that Elle had collected over the last few weeks. After our breakfast we drove to the Road Home and dropped off the coat donations but they wouldn't take the stuffed animals this year because of covid. We got in the car and Toby said we could just take them to the DI but I just wanted to see if I could find any other place that could use them more like a women shelter or something. I came across a listing for TINY TIMS Toy foundation so I made a call and the older man on the other end of the phone said yes we will take as many as you have. So we drove straight to this building in West Jordan where an older man sat on his walker and was waiting for us! What a treasure we stumbled upon. (I'm sure with a little help) This old man has dedicated the last 25 years of his life to making little wooden toy cars for children that don't have any in 3rd world countries. He asked if we would like a tour of his factory and than after the tour told us the story of how he got started, how some of the deliveries have gone, and then finally the secret to happiness. Find someone that needs help and do something for them. So simple and yet so profound. What a tender little Christmas Miracle. We signed up to come back and volunteer because his whole factory runs on volunteer time. I was so grateful for this experience and so grateful my kids got to feel the feeling of doing things for other people. Perfect end to a perfect morning.
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