We've had a wonderful season of Advent and are happy to be celebrating the birth of our King today!
Because the last two Christmases included travel and household moves, we were even more grateful to be settled in our cozy house and town and to slow down and truly enjoy the season.
We collected the needles from our Christmas tree and Jack made sachets to send as gifts....
...we made "Wise Men Play Dough" - with gold, frankincense and....well, cinnamon! :-)
We made lots and lots of cookies....
...and included our neighbor friend in the fun!
We prepared treats for our bird friends - peanut butter-and-seed-covered pinecones and homemade suet.
We watched Christmas movies and snuggled on the couch.
All four boys learned lines and songs for our church's Christmas program...
...we celebrated Advent each night by lighting a candle and reading a chapter in the amazing Advent Storybook Jotham's Journey by Arnold Ytreeide.
We made ice cream cone Christmas trees with some friends...
...and then made our very own gingerbread houses! (George had been waiting ALL DECEMBER to do this!)
We've enjoyed snow and winter sunsets....
...and watching many different winter birds enjoy the treats we made.
Jack and George made a Lego Nativity scene all on their own....
...and we painted a wooden nativity, complete with green-faced wise man painted by Joe!
We've so enjoyed our cozy home and the anticipation of a large Christmas Eve snowfall...
....it was so perfect to have a snowy Chirstmas Even and then wake up to a white, bright, sun-filled Christmas morning!
We are waiting for Dad to enjoy our presents, but the boys opened a few small gifts and presents sent by Grandma and Aunt Maddie.
And we had our Christmas morning Birthday celebration for Jesus!
Singing "Happy Birthday" for our King of Kings, come to earth as a newborn babe.
The boys have already had so much fun with their Zoob set from Grandma! Thank you!
Our first full Christmas in Utah and with Toby has been very special. We pray that you have had a Merry Christmas as well, and that you feel the wonder of the Gift we've all been given - the Gift of a Savior who has come to save us from our sins.
On this Christmas Day, we also celebrate that Toby has been in America for ONE YEAR!
It has been quite a year! We've had to grow and adjust quite a bit as a family and learn to rely on God's strength even more. But it has been a wonderful year and we hope this video captures some of the beauty of it.
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