A Christmas Eve Carol - Sunday December 24, 2017
It was our turn to host Christmas Eve dinner for Matt's side of the family. With Laurie's family here from Hawaii we have snowballed into a group of over 30 people. I had an idea from A Christmas Carol to incorporate the past, present, and future of Christmas. On the FB invite I used an old photo of Matt's family with his grandparents from Christmas past. Isn't this great to see Matt front and center wearing a police uniform just like Graham did at that age?
We began our Bethlehem style dinner at 3 pm, which incorporated a tradition Mark's family does every year. Grandma Donna couldn't believe we were able to fit everyone. We had folks upstairs, downstairs and in-between.
I made my baked brie and Jamie made her challah bread. It was quite the feast by the time we added Matt's turkey and Kei's ham.
After dinner we adjourned downstairs for the program. Sami played Jingle Bells on the piano. It is always such a treat to hear my own piano played. On the chorus we rang silver Jingle bells.
Christmas Past
Matt played a slide show of family pictures that went along with trivia questions he came up with. This really took his mom and siblings down memory lane. Grandma Donna shared what Christmas was like for her as a little girl. She wasn't raised in a religious family so she always wondered who Jesus was and how he tied in to Christmas at all. She now counts her blessings to see that her posterity has the gospel of Jesus Christ and knows the true meaning of Christmas. 
Christmas Present
Laurie taught us a game they often play in Hawaii at Christmastime. After two people were blindfolded and spun around they sat on someones lap and said, "Santa says HO HO HO." The person who they were sitting on had to say, "HO HO HO" back with their voice disguised. If I didn't know it was Kei talking I never would have guessed it was her! Matt couldn't tell he was sitting on Marks lap and Mark took advantage of this by tickling him every time he said, "ho ho ho." Mark then had to sit on Giuseppe's lap. I was able to pick out Matt's voice pretty easily when I sat on his lap. I could picture Mallerie really getting a kick out of this game.
Christmas Future
Ava shared a part from the New Era about Christmas tree's and then presented the six great-grandchildren a little tree. Evergreen trees for those who live in Utah and a Palm tree for Mahina who lives in Hawaii.
I went last to tie it all together. In A Christmas Carol, angels showed Scrooge the past, present, and future of Christmas. In the Book of Mormon we read King Benjamin's account where he too was visited by an angel. The angel showed him the birth of Jesus Christ through Mary. The scriptures teach us that Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Christ is our past, our present, and our future.
Graham read a part from How the The Grinch Stole Christmas about how the Grinch's heart grew, just as Mary kept and pondered these things in her heart. Callie talked about the wise men and asked what gifts we can give to Jesus. Grayson testified of the Nativity. I was proud of the way the three of them spoke from their hearts, which really brought in the spirit. The spirit of Christmas. We ended the program by showing Luke 2. Lastly, we presented a picture of Manuel to Matt's siblings. It was the last photo taken of Matt's dad before he passed away. It was a special evening.
As the guests left I gave them a blue raspberry Crystal Light drink mix with a note,
"We'd have had a blue Christmas without you."
Family Time
Because we started our party nice and early, by 6 pm everyone had gone. With all of us working together we got the house put back together pretty quickly. We gathered in the living room for our sibling gift exchange.
Ava gave Matt Steve Young's latest book: QB My Life Behind the Spiral. I read it and enjoyed it so much that I encouraged the boys to read it. Graham said it is the best book he has ever read. Grayson is reading it now. I don't know if Matt will ever get a chance!
Finally, Callie unwrapped a gift addressed to her. It was a note from Katrina explaining that she forgot to bring Callie's kitty calendar. Callie was a good sport about it, "I can't use it yet anyway."
We don't usually have enough time to watch It's a Wonderful Life on Christmas Eve but this year we did! Too bad the younger kids think it is boring because it is black and white.
The rest of the night went as predicted...well pretty much.
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| Callie left a note for Santa to please leave the couch area free of gifts so we can sit on the couch. Santa was a good listener. |
Christmas Day!
Graham has been dreaming about, talking about, and watching clips about the Nintendo Switch since it came out in March. I heard Grayson giving Graham a lecture a few weeks before Christmas about how he shouldn't be wishing for that. Graham was trying to reason with him but he sounded close to tears. I sent Matt into the boys room with a reminder to not be such a downer and to stay out of other people's business. Graham kept kept his dream alive.
You can imagine the jumping and clapping that went on when, on Christmas morning, Graham opened up a Nintendo Switch complete with the two games he had been wishing for. "I could cry!" he said.
A week before Christmas Giuseppe left a big box for me to wrap. He said it was a yoga mat for Katrina. Then on Christmas Eve he wanted to make sure it was wrapped and asked about it a few other times as well. I soon saw the value of the yoga mat box. Tucked inside with the mat was also a trip to Rome! This caught Katrina completely off guard. They will leave in January. It took a while for it to even sink in. Matt's Christmas wish game true when I presented him a cozy robe. "I have been looking everywhere for a robe! Where did you find it??" Walmart.com, the first place I looked.
Callie changed her wish just a few days before Christmas to an American Girl Doll wheelchair. I had to break the news to her that Santa had already checked his list, twice. She was instead happy to open a Hatchimal. We all gathered around as it pecked its way of it's shell.
Grayson's big wish was a basketball so he was pretty happy when he opened two. THEN...you can only imagine both Graham and Grayson's utter surprise when Grayson ALSO opened a Nintendo Switch!!! Christmas miracles all around. The second Switch opening was almost more fun than the first because it was so unexpected. Graham was probably more excited than Grayson because now he didn't have to share! Graham had watched clips of how to unbox the switch so he was eager to show Grayson how to get it all set up.
The big anticipation of the day was the opportunity to Skype with Sister Boci! I don't have any experience with this and was so worried we wouldn't get things set up in time. Matt brought the computer into the dining room so we would have plenty of space to gather around. Grandma Donna and Grandpa Mike were here when she called so they got to chat with her as well. Mallerie is so animated and I looked over to see Grandpa Mike chuckling to himself from time to time.
It was so good to hear her voice. She had us giggling at new words like SWAMP. I wasn't sure how long we would get to talk with her but it was a long time! I think we actually ran of things to say. Finally she was like, "I need to go guys." Ha! Mal.
Grandma Donna gave us an Applebee's gift card. This was the second card she gave to our family. She played a game at Thanksgiving where Grayson also won an Applebee's gift card. He drew Katrina's name for Christmas and since he doesn't have any money, he gave the gift card to her. I thought that was a very kind gesture.
We spent Christmas day eating, watching movies (who would have guessed Diary of a Whimpy Kid movies would be such a hit?) and playing games. Games, games, games. We got quite a few this year. Katrina got right on the computer to research details for their trip.
This is the Greatest Show!
Granny and Grandpa stopped by for a visit the next day, which was really nice. They gave us another emergency candle with a note, "Yep! Another one!" After they left, Matt took us girls to Park City to see The Greatest Showman. Ava saw it before Christmas and loved it. From what I saw in the previews I hadn't been very interested in seeing it. This was making Ava so mad. FINE, let's all go! Loved it. LOVED it. Ava got a Bluetooth speaker for Christmas and a Spotify subscription so now she can jam out to the soundtrack 24/7. We got a bite at Zupas afterwards and hashed over any and all details from the movie. This made me glad I had seen it with the girls. That Zac Efron!Five Stake New Years Eve Eve Dance -Saturday December 30, 2017
Our Stake was in charge this year and therefore Matt was heavily involved. He had a great youth committee who decorated and ran a photo booth. Kei and Ademir came to DJ for us. Ademir always does such a great job. So many youth came! Graham and Callie wanted to see what the dance looked like so I took them over before it started. They were goofing off and having fun so we ended up staying the whole time. I was very surprised to see that Grayson even came for part of it. He felt most comfortable at bubble soccer, but still! Other memorable events were when the string for the balloon drop broke and Matt's counselor had to climb up a ladder to release the balloons. Ademir was good at keeping the crowd in suspense during the lull.
Saying Good-Bye to 2017 and Welcoming in 2018
New Years Eve at our house requires a few staples: Poppers, party hats, corny jokes, and noise makers. What more do you need? How about S'mores!? We also toasted in the new year with sparkling cider at midnight and hollered on the porch.
We really have such a great time together. There is no one I would rather ring in the new year with than these people right here...except we are missig Mal!
