Christmas highlights

We had a great Christmas. A few days before Christmas, we drove down to the valley to see Temple lights and to exchange gifts with my family.

On the 22nd, some of Derick's family came up to Prescott to have Christmas with us. We had so much. On Christmas Eve, we all went sledding.

That night, we acted out the Nativity. I was immediately elected to be Mary since I was the only female with a young child. he he.

For some reason, Lincoln LOVES this baby swing. It's Derick's parents' swing that they have when babies come to visit, and Lincoln has always been fascinated by it. He always wants to climb in it. When Derick's sister, Debbie, was looking for something to use as the manger, she decided on this and it was perfect because Lincoln actually sat in it. What a goof.

Other Christmas Eve highlights:

-Yummy Mexican food dinner

-Having Papa read "The Night Before Christmas"

-Traditional opening of pajamas

-White Elephant gift exchange

-Singing songs and talking about our Savior

(side note: we talked so much about Baby Jesus during Christmas, that now whenever Lincoln sees a photo of Christ, it's not just "Jesus" anymore, it's "Baby Jesus.")

On Christmas Day, we had church at 9:00, so that's what we did first, and it was great. I loved having a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas before all of the other stuff on Christmas Day.

After church, we came home and exchanged gifts, of course. Derick and I were so excited for this Christmas. It's so fun to spoil your own child. My sister-in-law said it best when she said that the only thing better than a first Christmas is a second Christmas. It's so true...it's so fun when they can start to get excited and understand.

Anyway...

Lincoln got a few Tonka trucks (to him they are tractors) and he was so excited. He played with those for quite a while.

He also got spoiled with lots of other cars, books, movies, animals, etc. Lucky little guy!

Derick also spoiled me with a new pressure canner (yeah!), my own tool kit (it's so awesome), my annual homemade calendar (which he puts a lot of thought and time into and I LOVE it) and lots of other little fun things.

The gift that I spent the most time on for Derick was this quilt. I made it out of a bunch of his old soccer jerseys and shirts.

Later that night, before dinner, all of the boys put on ugly sweaters and shirts that they had found at a thrift store and came caroling to the front door. It was pretty hilarious.

Other Christmas Day highlights:

-yummy dinner

-movies

-just spending time with family and having fun!

This is probably going to be my last post for a while (until we get settled and have internet in our new place). We are starting to load up our stuff tomorrow and will be on the road by Wednesday! We are so excited to be going back to Virginia and for Derick to be in grad school. It really feels like what we need to be doing. We will miss all of our family and friends here in Arizona, though.  You are all welcome to come and visit anytime!