Finally, the main event of the month was here! Christmas!! Christmas Eve was on a Wednesday this year. Jeff, unfortunately (and also fortunately because work has been a little slower this year than in past years), had to work. In the morning, I needed to do a few things to prepare for our Bethlehem dinner that evening. Jonas was, therefore, bored. Thankfully, Dallin came up with the idea to go indoor kart racing with Jonas and Audrey (and I tagged along) at Redline Racing. They got to do two races. I could tell that Jonas was a little nervous his first few laps around the track, but by the end, he was more confident maneuvering the turns and speeding through the straightaways. Dallin showed no nerves at all and Audrey kept up with the best of them. After the second race, Jonas was hooked. I have a feeling we'll be going again.
By the time we got home, there were still a couple of agonizing hours for Jonas until the rest of the family showed up to start the Christmas festivities. At last, people started to gather around 4:00 p.m. to help us assemble and set out our luminaries. (The Irons did not join us this year. It was technically our year, but they ended up coming down with a highly contagious strain of the flu. It was a doozy and they didn't want to spread it to anyone else.) It was a warm, windy year. We had to cut the tops of the bags off so they wouldn't bend over and start on fire. We also had to use more sand to weight them down, which meant that there were fewer bags overall. That was fine though because it meant less candles to light or get blown out. We actually didn't light them at the time we set them out because of the velocity of the wind, but we were able to finally get them lit for a couple of hours before the flames succumbed to the wind. Once the bags were placed, we gathered inside for our Bethlehem dinner and Christmas Eve devotional. This is night is probably the highlight of my Christmas experience. I love that we get to slow things down a little and consider Christ. There is always talk amongst faith communities about whether or not to observe the secular traditions (e.g., Santa, elf on the shelf, etc.) or to solely focus on Christ. As I have pondered the arguments for or against Santa, I have come to the conclusion that it simply doesn't matter in the long run if you are not intentional about Christ throughout the year. I think Santa can be an example of attributes of Christ. I think he can point us in that direction if we choose to allow him to do so. I think the same can be said with anything we choose to celebrate. We have to be intentional about our faith in Him at all times...and not just at Christmas or Easter. I think we can get lost in any holiday, and especially in our day-to-day lives, if we do not intentionally find Him every day. Tonight we were intentional in our celebration of His birth. During our devotional, Jonas played three songs on the piano. He played Hark the Herald Angels Sing for our opening song and we both played Silent Night (he played the right hand and I played the left hand) for our closing song. He played a version of We Three Kings for a special musical number. I read the book, A Christ Centered Christmas, as we recounted the birth of Christ in Luke 2. Gma Penny and Katie also shared little messages. As we closed the devotional, Dallin and Audrey read the Living Christ then Danny played I Feel My Savior's Love on the guitar as we contemplated how Christ has shown up for us this year. We always try to keep it short, especially with little kids, but I'm grateful for the Spirit it brings to our home and the moments of stillness that allow me to reflect on the gift of His birth. After the devotional, Jeff's parents, Katie, Greg, Brad, Mitchell, Grace, and Cody left. The rest of us played games until after 11:00 p.m. then it was time to get to bed so Santa could come.
The next morning was Christmas! Once Dallin and Audrey came back over and Jacob, Amber, and Danny were awake (we let Beau sleep), we headed into the living room to enjoy giving and receiving gifts. This year, Dallin and Audrey had you for Christmas. I think it was a successful Christmas overall. There were so many thoughtful and fun gifts. The kids got me gift certificates for free Sunday dinners. Basically, the kids split up the year and offered to plan, prepare, and serve one Sunday dinner during each quarter. I loved it! I always struggle to come up with good dinner ideas. I'm excited to experience different meals that I have perhaps not considered. After opening gifts, we enjoyed our traditional waffle breakfast before Dallin and Audrey left to spend the rest of the day with her family. Jacob, Amber, and Beau (who woke up a little later to open his gifts) stuck around until about 4:00 before they went to spend the evening with his parents. We did sneak over to the Irons to drop off their gifts and some of our yummy prime rib dinner. We were able to chat with them for a little bit on their porch before returning to the house for a quiet Christmas evening.
The rest of that weekend was pretty chill. All the boys actually went to work with Jeff on Friday, December 26th. Brad joined them as well. They helped Jeff clean up a water tank at a cabin near Brighton Ski Resort. There were some furry critters that snuck in there and died. Yuck! Saturday, December 27th, we were supposed to meet up with several members of the Oliver family to go shooting on West Mountain. Unfortunately (or fortunately because we need it) it rained that morning so we invited them to the house at lunch to hang out for a couple of hours. We grilled the hot dogs we were planning to roast on the mountain and had chips and veggies for lunch then everyone went out to the shop to play with the high powered Nerf guns. Amber, Jacob, Dallin, Audrey, and Danny stuck around after Olivers left. We hung out for the evening and played games. On Sunday, December 28th, we celebrated Hanukkah with the family. The Irons were still not feeling up to joining us. That has definitely been a crappy part of our holiday week! Nevertheless, we celebrated Hanukkah much like Cinco de Mayo or Chinese New Year. We talk about the significance of the holiday, have foods that would typically be consumed during the festivities, and enjoy a small activity, which is, of course, playing dreidel. I've always enjoyed celebrating these smaller holidays (at least smaller for us). I really like incorporating some of these Jewish traditions, especially when it connects us to Christ.
And just like that it's over. I can't believe it's over. It's always a little sad, but as I look forward to a new year, there is also a sense of anticipation for good things to come. Bring on 2026!
