The LONG Drive

We left this morning around 8 am and made it to our home we are staying at about 8:30pm.

We had a long day in the car, but it was a fun day.

We had a box full of presents to open each hour and the kids looked forward to all the activities and treats they received.

It was a life savor for Daddy and me.

The first activity/present we opened was balloon animals.
Balloons were all over the car and the kids got really creative.

Another fun game was to wear Santa hats and whoever was wearing the Santa beard too got to pick a Christmas song to sing.

 

Another of the games was a "Match Cookie" game.
Joyanne won this one with 4 matches.

The gingerbread cookies to go with it were yummy.

The hardest part of our trip was when we were 37 miles from San Bernadino, which was when we hit rush hour.

It took us 2 hours to go 30 miles.

Halfway through we stopped for some dinner.

The home we are staying in is so nice and clean.

I am feeling really blessed to be able to do this trip to Disneyland.

Now I just hope I can keep calm and kind to my kids through it all.

Anonymous Givers

The Sunday before Christmas is always memorable.

The sacrament program was uplifting.

I loved singing the Christmas carols and talking about the true meaning of CHRISTmas.

Joyanne played a piano solo of "Hark the Harold Angels Sing" with her own arrangement.

The song that touched me the most was  the last verse of "O Little Town of Bethlehem", where it says "Where meek souls will receive him, still The dear Christ enters in."

We made the first leg of our Disneyland journey to my Mom's home.

My mom's tree is cute with the teddy bear in it.

We have been very blessed lately by people in our neighborhood and ward.

A few weeks ago a bag of clothes was dropped off on our porch.

Just last night a big box of presents was dropped off on our porch with a note saying we get to open a present every hour of our journey to Disneyland.

At tithing settlement, this afternoon, the bishop handed us an envelope with some money in it.

And Jade has received two monetary gifts in relation to his job.

We feel overwhelmed with gratitude to the people who have made our Christmas a special one.

THANK YOU!!!

The Lord is watching over us as we strive to live righteously.

I love the Savior and am so grateful He was born and died for all of us.

I love this time of year!

Celebrating Christmas

Tonight we had our Christmas dinner of ham, funeral potatoes, crescent rolls, and salad.

YUMMY!!!

Then we had a Christmas program.

We sang Christmas songs, read the Christmas story and gave our gift to Jesus.

Then the kids gave their gifts to each other.

 

We are celebrating Christmas so early because we were fortunate enough to be able to go to Disneyland this year ON CHRISTMAS.

We are able to stay in a home 15 minutes from Disneyland for free.

We couldn't pass up this offer.

So for the last month we have been so excited.

I have been doing laundry and packing for the last 2 days.

We will start our trip tomorrow evening.

So Disneyland, here we come!!!



Fun Daddy!

Daddy has been great to be with today and talk too.

The kids surrounded him this evening, seeking for attention.

He was great to let them hang on him.

He became like one of the kids, joking around.



The Nutcracker

Jaden performed with the whole 1st Grade in "The Nutcracker".

He was definitely the cutest mouse there and he did amazing with his narrator lines, all memorized.

I was happy to be able to go and record Jaden's play.

Daddy is the Best!

A preview for tomorrow's Nutcracker play.

Jaden is a mouse and a narrator in the play.

We had fun seeing Jaden's cute whiskers. 

Daddy was home today and he was so nice to have home, like usual.

He asked me this afternoon if there was anything I wanted to do.

So I did a session at the temple.

When I came home, he had cleaned the kitchen, fed the kids, and put Grant down for a nap.

He took Joyanne to her babysitting and picked up the boys from school while I started a casserole for dinner.

Then he helped with dinner while I taught Jaden and Hiram piano.

He prepared some fudge for the treat I took to book club tonight.

I feel so lucky to be married to such a good man.

I am grateful I get to spend eternity with him.

Family Home Evening

Family Home Evening was nice tonight to be with our family.

Daddy read a Christmas story out of The New Era.

The kids enjoyed lounging around listening. 

I love the feeling Family Night brings.

The Spirit helps draw our family closer together. 

We all look forward to Family Home Evening and a few rounds of Hide-and-Seek to go with it.