Christmas Eve Magic

First off, I have to say I was very pleased with Target this year. I did a lot of my shopping there and for one reason. I had heard that they had decided to have their employees say "Merry Christmas" to customers instead of "Happy Holidays" like everywhere else. Afterall, Christmas IS about Christ's birth, so I decided they would get my business. I put it to the test and without fail, every time I went to Target whether in Utah or Nevada, I heard music to my ears every time I passed or talked to an employee. I just wanted to say thanks to Target for making my shopping experience more pleasant this year.

Ok, now on to pictures and Christmas Eve Magic!!

Christmas Eve is always my favorite. The lights, the food, the festivities, the excited children, the anticipation of Christmas morning, the stories of Christ's birth, the Christmas movies. My mom goes all out for Christmas and it usually takes her a few weeks to get everything up. She has so many decorations that they have to move around furniture to get it all to fit. CRAZY!! But so much fun. Here's a little glimpse into the Luke House Christmas.

          

 

        

                                

                                

The kids absolutely LOVE all the Christmas decorations and the Christmas transformation that takes place at Grandma's house.

My mom made an extremely awesome dinner with Ham and Roast and Potatoes and veggies, etc. YUM!!

Then it was time for grandkids to open their presents from Grandpa and Grandma. (my parents started having everyone open presents from them on Christmas Eve since most everyone is at inlaws on Christmas Day)

Marley giving Hudson hugs which ended up in both of them flat on the floor.

 Hailey wrestling with Uncle Jared.

 

The kids got these HUGE bears from Grandma and Grandpa. Each family got one and they were quite a hit.

This was a gift I made for my parents. It's a grandkids scoreboard with boys vs. girls. The numbers are magnetic and can be changed out when new kids are added. It was really fun to make.

 I love how they are making the exact same face in this picture...

Playing outside with all the lights

 I grew up with HUGE stockings that were packed FULL and I loved it. 

So, we're doing the same with our kids.

We really had so much fun on Christmas Eve. The night ended with putting the girls to bed and Magically hearing Santa's bells wringing outside the girls window. They were BEYOND excited about it and had a really hard time going to bed because of it. At one point, I walked in their room and said "you NEED to go to bed so Santa can come!" and Hailey's reply was "but mom, i'm just SO excited that I can't sleep!" 

Kids make this season so much more fun. I'm glad we got to spend this time with my awesome family.

Christmas Season 2010

Christmas this year has completely FLOWN by! I can't believe it's over. I feel like I just put my tree up yesterday and I did it before Thanksgiving (yeah, i'm one of THOSE peopole). I can't help it, I LOVE the Christmas season. This year I got to put up a new tree with all new ornaments. I feel like I have a grown up Christmas tree now!

We started a new little thing last year and it's becoming a tradition. There are horse carriage rides during the month of December at a fun little outdoor shopping center and the girls absolutely LOVE doing this.

This year was special. The driver let Hailey site up front with him and she was so EXCITED!

                            

         

The girls love all the Christmas lights and decorations. It's so magical to them!

This year, I also made new Stockings for everyone. I think they turned out pretty cute.

I finally got brave and went outside and built the girls a snowman. Hailey had been begging since the first time it snowed and those of you who know my circulation issues will be proud to know I did it bare handed! 

I was proud, till I ran inside, shut the door, and yelled curses because my hands hurt so bad. :-)

Family Picture on Christmas Sunday

This was Hailey's Preschool Christmas Program. It was adorable. The kids sand a bunch of songs and anxiously awaited Santa's arrival.

Santa brought his lovely wife, Mrs. Clause.

The girls were supplied with a plethora of Christmas activities from their Grandma Luke for the month of December and this was a favorite. 

The girls got invited to a Kids Christmas Party at their friend Owen's house.

They got to make a little reindeer craft and decorate some cookies.

As you can see, the sprinkles were a hit.

All in all, it was a really fun December, but SUPER busy as well. Kids make the season so magical. One of my favorite Christmas Quotes:

"The magic of Christmas is embedded in the 

Hearts of Children"

Counting Blessings

I thought i'd be doing a Christmas post tonight, but i'm WAY too tired after a long day of driving to even load my pictures on to my laptop right now, so instead, i'll quickly post something that's been on my mind since we got home.

My nerves are completely shot. Tonight, after driving home from dinner at my in-laws, we got off our exit to our house and were waiting to turn left at the light. Our light then turned green. There was a short pause before Nate accelerated and it was a good thing we weren't in any hurry and a good thing he hesitated before entering the intersection. He pushed on the gas, I yelled, and he slammed on the brakes just in time for a huge truck to run the light and almost t-bone us. He was going at least 35 and had no intentions of slowing down. I pretty much stopped breathing for a bit and we looked at eachother knowing that if we had been hit, our van would have been tipped for sure and we all would have gone to the hospital.

So, tonight, as I sit here, EXTREMELY grateful for life and my family, I feel as though I've had a heart attack and I can't get to bed fast enough. Tonight, i'm counting my many blessings, especially thankful for the blessing of safety tonight and today in our long day of travels. It's times like these that I reflect on my Savior and am in complete awe of how much he cares and watches out for us on a daily basis.

Oh Little One...

Hailey: "Mom, can I have a lot of marshmallows in a baggie?"


Me: "No, Hailey, you cannot have marshmallows right now."


Hailey: (with a very frustrated look) "Mom, Santa's watching you and you're not being very nice to me"

Santa


We love Santa. It's become a traditon every year since the year Nate and I got married to go take pictures with Santa. It's always fun and magical for the girls to sit and tell him what they want for Christmas. Besides, he gives them See's Candy Suckers! 

Another tradition is that they send a letter to Santa every year and they also get a response in the mail from Santa. Very fun and exciting.

The girls lists this year were interesting.

Santa's got his work cut out for him this year!

One of the most exciting Christmasy things we have done this year was get videos sent to the girls from Santa. Those of you with children.. you've got to check this out. It's awesome. You just imput your kids info (no personal info is required) then they send a personalized message to your child through a video. Be sure to upload pictures at the appropriate areas to ensure a more personal video. It's really cute. Our girls just lit up with excitement when they watched their videos...


Hailey's:
http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/n2sLvMCJZlTdENfT6tV4Dg


Addy's:

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/N4nuDJ71lRTBSflNmuByYQ




Click here to create your own:

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home

This is Hailey's rendition of 

'Santa Clause Is Coming To Town'

What fun traditions have you been up to?