Another Christmas has passed.....

Well it was a wild December, full of highs and lows. So many wonderful moments together, good food, beautiful music, reflections on the Saviour and His life, but also some unexpected things as well.
The ice storm, preventing my grandparents from coming to Christmas dinner, the microphone falling on Chlo's head at the school Christmas concert. Also my poor Chlo falling backwards into a desk at school, hitting her head and needing 5 stitches (just minutes before the Christmas party the kids were having at our home) was an unpleasant surprise. My Grandpa was admitted to the hospital for a few days with an infection and a crack in the base of his spine, Gran Wilson was having cataracts surgery, it just seemed crazy at times!

But there was so much good. Our kids have so many family members that adore them, and I am eternally grateful for that. This Christmas was more about people than presents and I was thrilled about that. My Papa always says in his thick Scottish accent that "there is nothing mare important than folk" and it's so true. We saw everybody and celebrated a lot. Christmas Eve I hit a bit of a PMS induced wall for about an hour, where I thought I just couldn't do everything that needed to be done, but it passed quickly as I shopped with my mum for some last minute groceries and ate some trifle with my dad. That afternoon was one of my favourite moments of the holidays, just being in the home I grew up in, decorating the tree and hanging out for an hour. Nothing fancy, but I felt that awesome Christmassy, magical feeling that I had been missing for a few days beforehand.

The stresses sometimes overshadow the joy, and I hate that. I am a big believer of doing things that are fun and enjoyable because you want to, not because Pinterest and Facebook tell you that you should. I love hosting parties and cooking good food. It's fun and enjoyable for me and it makes me feel good, and I think it makes others feel good. When I try and take on projects or crafts that make me feel stressed, I try and ditch them ASAP. When I don't do that, the result isn't fun for anyone. Especially when PMS is involved.

There were other highlights, the bake off/name draw at Gran and Papa's,sleepover with friends and their children at their new home, gingerbread houses and candy cane cookies, baking at Grandma's, Kwanis luncheon with the special needs children in the Upper Grand Board, crafts and concerts, and cookie exchanges, parties, lunches with good friends, making caramels with Melissa in her beautiful new home, Baby Spencer's arrival in time for Christmas, cousin sleepover with my brother and his family when church was cancelled because of the ice, fondue at Uncle Warren's, Christmas dinner here, Christmas dinner at Bonnie's, our best new year's eve party yet....so much fun was had.

The most spiritual parts of the season for me are always when music is involved. We were lucky enough to have our friends, the Lynch family, come and play a beautiful rendition of O Come O Come Emmanuel, with the piano and violin. My mum and my brother also performed that piece at our house this year too. One of my faves. I had a chance to sing a beautiful song called "Just a little while" at the stake Christmas Concert this year, and I loved performing with Kim and Terri-Ann in sacrament "Angels we have heard on high." (Singing Baby it's Cold Outside with Darryl at the ward christmas party wasn't overly spiritual, but it was really fun!) Another spiritual highlight for me was at the end of the day, after cleaning the kitchen for what felt like the millionth time, I had a hot bath and read "A Christ Centered Christmas" by Emily Freeman, like I do every year, and pondered what it was like for Mary, the shepherds, angels, etc. and took some time to reflect on the true meaning of the season, our Saviour. It was awesome. I love Him.

We bought a Vitamix. I love it. I have wanted one since I was 17 and it's been even better than I imagined it would be.

We took the kids to see the new Disney movie "Frozen" twice, and to say they loved it would be the biggest understatement of the century. Obsessed would describe their feelings much better. I have never seen all three of them sooooo into the exact same thing before. Chlo went through a Tangled phase, but to see all three of them laugh, quote and sing from the same movie has been SO. MUCH. FUN. I don't know even how to really put it into words for the blog, it's just been magical. Santa brought them each a Frozen stuffed doll, and honestly, I think they would've been happy to get nothing else.

Side note: These dolls really helped when we got to Nana's that day and they realized that all 7 of their cousins had tablets or ipods from Santa this year, and they weren't even phased that they were the only kids without them, where I had expected a huge "I want one too! Can I have one? Why do they have one and I don't?" scenario in my head, since I knew beforehand the others were getting them. But I just am not ready to dive into that world just yet, and luckily the kids didn't seem to mind. I know the day will come, I"m just digging my heels in as long as I can get away with it!!

Carter loves Olaf the snowman, Chlo loves Elsa, and Claire loves Anna, to the point of her demanding we call her Anna. Hands down my favourite moment on Christmas Day was buying the soundtrack on itunes and playing with their new toys while the three of them sang the same 4 songs over and over and over. It's been 3 weeks now, and I still hear "Let it Go" by Idina Menzel at least 5 times a day a Claire's request and I am not even sick of it, because I love how Claire sings along. We watched it maybe a dozen times now on youtube  and it's really fun to see your kids get so much joy out of something. I came home with an Anna Barbie for Claire and she went nuts. It's so adorable and Darryl and I can't get enough of watching them enjoy something so much. The other day happened to be their 3rd snow day in a row (extended Christmas vacation was the best christmas present ever! Thank you snowstorm!!!) and decorated his office with icicles for almost an hour while he worked, turning it into an ice castle. Maybe it's this movie combined with the real-life Frozen type weather we've had this Christmas, but it makes me so giddy to see the three of them enjoying something so much, and enjoying it together! Loving this winter.....loving having so much time to just be together, loving having little kids, who see magic in all the little things, loving my Heavenly Father for blessing more than I ever could've imagined.

There is a line in a song from The Forgotten Carols that says:

"All I ever wanted, all I ever dreamed of, everything I hoped and all the things I've prayed for couldn't hold a candle to what I've been given. I've been given what I need"-Michael McClean

So very true.