It has been a season of JOY for our family. We've counted our blessings and are so grateful to be a family of three, have the Gospel in our lives, a fantastic extended family, jobs that allow us to support ourselves and to live such a beautiful place. We've felt peace as we've reflected on the birth of Jesus Christ and are thankful for the knowledge that He came to Earth as our Savior and that He will come again. We have SO much to be thankful for!
Christmas week was so fun this year! Bryan's parents arrived on the 19th, and it has been really special to spend time with them.
The night they arrived we decorated "gingerbread" (graham cracker) houses with Rob and Co. at our house. Bryan always takes the longest to build his house, but it always turns out the hugest. By the time he was finished building this year everyone else was finished and we hardly felt like decorating it. So, he covered it with white frosting and we called it a temple.
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The next day we hit the beach with Bryan's parents to look for shark's teeth. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. I have to admit as lovely as the weather is, it is really hard to believe we were preparing for Christmas at home and playing in the sand and water at the beach only a few miles away. Even though this was our third Christmas here, it is still a strange feeling (especially we've been seeing so many images of VERY white Christmases on the news and on most of our friend's and family's blogs from other ends of the country).
With Nana and Grandpa in town, Eleanore has been soaking up the extra attention (and Mom and Dad have enjoyed the help -- including a little time to ourselves. Nana babysat twice while we got to go out for an hour or two, a first for us!).
On Christmas Eve it has become tradition for Rob and his family to come to our house for dinner and Family Home Evening. Each year we've had a different crowd to join us, which is always fun. This year Catherine (our sis-in-law) had part of her family in town so they joined us that night. After dinner we did a $5 Yankee gift exchange and had Home Evening.
And then the kids opened pajamas from Nana!
Christmas morning was super fun! We opened up presents first. I wasn't sure if Eleanore would know what was going on or care, but she seemed to catch on and enjoy herself (so much that she exhausted herself and slept for three hours once we were finished). She must have been a good baby this year because she was totally SPOILED! Thank you to all of her cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents who gave her gifts. She is loving having new toys to play with and stories to read!
She got a baby doll and I think that was the highlight of her Christmas, she could hardly wait for me to get it out of the box and after I handed it to her she gave the doll a kiss. It was so sweet.
After presents we had six missionaries at our house for breakfast. It was really fun to have them with us. Two of them called their parents from our home and it was neat to see how excited they were to call home.
After the Elders left we headed up to Rob and Catherine's house to continue the celebration. They were very creative in their gift giving. Our gift was wrapped, then below that it was covered in duct tap, below that it was in a wood box which was screwed and glued closed, then inside the box was a puzzle giving us a hint of where to find our gift. It was a fun idea that made unwrapping it half the fun!
They also gave Eleanore a Little People Dollhouse which she loves (esp. the little people -- she wanted to hold all three so she put her mouth to work).
Audrey, Jordan and Jake got a puppet theater. They did a show for us all and there was no way Bryan could miss out on that action. You'd think he was just one of the kids. :)
Later that evening the grownups were playing games and the kids were playing with their new toys. Audrey and Jordan included Eleanore in their play which was so kind. She loves her cousins and is getting to a stage that she seems to feel pretty special when they include her.
10 comments:
Ok- well it looks like you provided just a few more details on this blog than on the family blog! Pretty creative temple idea! Man, those buckleys look like the perfect grandparents. Looks like a super fun Christmas vacation!
You guys really look like you had a great Christmas. If you ask me, Bryan looks like he had a little too much fun with those puppets! That's OK though, I just love the way he's always smiling. He always has a good time no matter what he does and I think that's great.
I am glad you had so much fun. You guys really know how to live it up with family and friends. That is awesome Bryans parents came and you two could have a couple date nights. I have to say you look so beautiful in the pictures and Bryan looks like he is so young in one of those pictures. I miss Eleanore, she seems so grown up, I wish we could see her personality in real.
What a fun Christmas! I love the video of Eleanore and her dolly. We have one of Jadyn like that on her birthday. She has gotten so big, it was good to see video of her and how she moves and sounds.
Really fun pictures!! I loved the video of Eleanore, I can't believe how much expression she shows at not even a year old yet. It's like she really gets what's going on & that gift was for her!!
Ryan laughed at Bryan's temple...pretty cool. He has patience, man, that's like my least favorite Christmas activity ever 'cause I'm always so impatient & bad at it! Very impressive.
Cool puppet theatre...I want one!! And I love the jammies too..bet you guys will miss the Buckley Grandparents a lot!
That's so funny about the jammies - our grandkids always get new jammies to greet Santa in, too! It must be an Idaho thing.
Speaking of, it was a VERY white Christmas! I think we got about a foot of snow over about 4-5 days. And it got down to 4 degrees. Brrr!!! It was nice to experience a white Christmas for once (I think it was the first ever for me!) but I also think once was enough. I really appreciate our warm Florida Christmases now! Plus I really really missed Christmas at my Mom and Dad's with my siblings and their kids.
Love the video of Eleanor - I can't believe how BIG she's getting! And I think the toy companies must have stock in those little twisty wires... What a pain they are!!!
Anyway, thanks for always taking the time to share such great memories with us; I love living vicariously through your blog.
Wow, what a great Christmas and you always blog about things so well. I loved all the pictures. Ashley's right, you look so pretty and Eleanore is following in your footsteps. She is so beautiful and looking so grown up. I'm glad it was a nice Christmas break, you guys deserve it.
Emily,
I've read through your post at least two times and I haven't had the chance to comment.
I loved Bryan's temple, it totally looked like a temple! How creative, I could never do that.
Little El has grown and she has lost some of her cute baby cheeks. Tim and I enjoyed the video of her. I loved her reaction of getting a baby doll. And those kisses were so sweet...I just can't believe how loving she was towards her dolly!
The picture of you was so pretty! Are you still getting out to exercise? You look great.
Sounds like you guys had a great week. The beach looks like fun. I'm sure it is weird to be at the beach around Christmas, but enjoy it. We were freezing our hiny's off.
Eleanore is so cute. That pic of her kissing her baby doll is so sweet. It's weird how girls are born with that motherly instinct :)
I'm glad you had a fun Christmas!
I love seeing Eleanore with her baby doll. That is so sweet! What a fun, special year for your family. I know I can speak for you, too, when I say, "Life is Good!"
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