Its the most wonderful time of the year

Every single time I hear that song at Christmas I think of my Dad.

We used to sing it over and over again in the car-

 making up silly words of our own about what this time of year meant for our family. 

Its true though, whether you are near family, or missing them from afar,

it really is the most wonderful time of the year.

This year we may have gotten a late start, but we tried our best to celebrate the season to the fullest.

Starting in November I had Pandora Christmas Stations on pretty much all the time. 

Our Family Home Evenings were spent singing Christmas songs and reading to Beck about baby Jesus.

We baked and frosted Christmas cookies

(RARE occasion for me-I pretty much had to buy all the ingredients,

 including a rolling pin-because I seriously never bake)

  

not to worry, this was gingerbread scented play dough...

none of our neighbors had to eat "toddler-rolled" cookies ;)

We visted Christmas trains, Santa, and spent lots of time with friends

Beck also had his first encounter with Santa-age 22 months. 

He loved it.

...and by looking at Santa's eyes,

you can tell he loved it too.

Just before the special day itself, we headed down to Oklahoma to see the Taylors.

I got lots of pictures of this trip,

but somehow they pretty much all ended up being on Christmas morning wearing PJ's. 

...super flattering of everyone.

So flattering that I won't make you feel bad about how much better

we look than you first thing in the morning by posting them.

hah!

The lack of pictures doesn't reflect on how wonderful the trip was though!

The highlights were watching Beck interact with his Grandparents and Aunt and Uncles,

experiencing the magic of Christmas for a toddler,

and our fabulous fondue' Christmas eve dinner.

I think my favorite part was the Christmas Eve devotional with the family.

We each shared our testimonies of Christ and the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon,

and sang Christmas songs together. 

It really is the most wonderful time of the year. 

It is a perfect reminder of the humble beginnings of our Savior,

Jesus Christ and all that he did/does for us.

round here

Five days now.  It started out with a severe headache, morphed into a cactus throat, and now I spend my days voiceless and my nights up coughing.  I don't get sick often, but when I do, its bad.  The worst part is, my little buddy has it too, albeit a much milder version (thank heaven).

Chase is watching a movie about "Pistol Pete", so I brewed up some hot honey-lemon water and decided to take the plunge.  Into the blog that is.  I'm so far behind, but I'll make an attempt. 

It sounds cliche, but my my we have been blessed.  Chase accepted a job offer at Orbit Medical.  It is a much better fit for him than his old job.  He's been there for almost a month and loves it already.  The only downside is that if/WHEN he has been successful for a few months, there is a good chance they will promote him and ask us to relocate to somewhere like Spokane, Portland, or Pheonix.  While the adventure sounds great for a couple of years, I haven't come to terms with the fact that we'd be moving away from family.  I guess we'll just cross that bridge when we come to it. 

We had a magical holiday season.   It sounds cheesey, but coming from me its not that weird, right?

Christmas in B-Town

Every part of Christmas was more fun with a little man to enjoy it with us. 

Jalene and Lincoln organized a temple lights date with us and Kyle and Jade.

 Next year we'll remember that it closes at 9:00 so we'll be sure to get there earlier.  ;)

gotta love cousins in matching Pj's. 

We spent Christmas in Boise with some of our favorite people

Reindeer fighting? no, just "Minute to Win it" Christmas Eve Party.  My mom plans the best parties!

Happy first Christmas to these newlyweds!

Tayler was at the perfect age for the magic of Christmas. 

We had lots of fun watching her get so excited with each present.

The first thing we do on Christmas morning is admire baby Jesus in his manger. 
One of our favorite Christmas gifts this year was our own manger to begin our Christmas good deed tradition. 

This little guy didn't really know the difference between a present and wrapping paper,
 but he sure loves this hat that Mimi made him!

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New Years in the field

The older siblings hopped on a plane to join the rest of the fam in Oklahoma City for New Years. 
It was great to reconnect with them and see what their missionary life is like. 

Beck was definetely the favorite person all week. 

I loved that he got to spend some quality time with his Grandma and Grandpa.

One of my favorite memories of the trip was the day we spent exploring Oklahoma University's campus. 

We spent literally HOURS taking pictures of the silliest things. 

We laughed our heads off taking these jumping pictures over and over and over again.

This is what the Taylor boys call "Tackling for loss of Yardage"

Every night we would stay up until wee hours of the morn. 

 It was like we just wanted to soak in every min we had with these guys. 

has it been three years yet?

This is the very picture taken moments after Beck officially said "BALL!!"  He got such a reaction from us that he repeated the word over and over again. 

He definitely understood the concept of throwing the ball and chasing after it

-and Chase could not be more proud

We couldn't have asked for a better Christmas season! 

Now if only I could get over this blasted cough!

Its beginning to look a lot like....

I told you yesterday, I am so excited for Christmas this year.  I really want to fill our home with the anticipation and excitement of the Savior's Birth.  Last night for FHE we decorated. 

We started with a little Josh Groban and hot cocoa to set the mood.

 Penny and Beck dressed up for the occasion

First winter fire a blazin... 

 the (future) Chilean missionary entertaining Beck

 Abby and Jalene were on light duty

and Lincoln kept the fire burning... or something ;)

We were so engrossed in getting the tree just right that we suddenly realized it was almost midnight.
thats late for us old folks!

Whoops!  The tree sure looked beautiful though.  I just wish the rest of the Taylors would have been there to join in the fun. 

magical isn't it?

Merry Christmas!

Last night after driving 9 hours home from Boise (crazy snow!), I lay in my bed  and couldn't fall asleep.
 I felt overwhelmed with gratitude for life's blessings.
 The drive home was long and scary.  It could have been bad with a nine month old who hates being in his carseat, not to mention how dangerous the roads were. Beck was an angel though.    Being at home for Thanksgiving was extra special this year for some reason.  Even though we spent 182,000 hours watching college football, with results that I don't even want to talk about-it still felt so good to be home with my parents and Kaela and Garrett (AKA Gaela or Karrett, take your pick) 
Honestly. I have so much to be grateful for. 

One of my favorite parts about Thanksgiving is that it really opens the season for Christmas!  We are going to put up our Christmas decorations tonight.  With the help of this book, I am going to work on making this Christmas season about Christ. 

So, here are two videos.  Both to open up the season for you all. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LFb3UBiNoM