Christmas

Well, we didn't have a white Christmas, but we had a nice Christmas!  We got to have four of the Elders over after Church on Christmas Eve day for lunch and visiting.  The Elders were curious about the traveling we've done, so we showed them a lot of pictures while Briant made his famous tacos.  Elder Marziale on the far right, would be leaving in January, so this was the last time we had him over.

 After the Elders left, we remembered that we needed a family pic in front of the tree, so while setting up the camera, Briant posed.  :)

 Getting ready to open their Christmas Eve gift, the traditional pair of pajamas.

 And Briant made me open one too.  More cozy one piece pajamas with feet!!

 Christmas morning, the anxious kids lined up in birth order, oldest in the back.

 Rhea and Thomas tackled their stockings first and found a Kinder Egg Surprise.  

 Savannah was excited about everything, especially the Echo Dot.

 After seeing what Santa brought, we moved to the gifts under the tree.  Rhea, our singer that doesn't stop singing, was overjoyed at her new karaoke microphone and a gift of voice lessons starting in January!

Savvy, our girl that can't get enough "cozy" in her day, LOVED her new plush robe and slippers (along with the plush pajamas she got on Christmas Eve).  She went and got her old robe and passed it on to Rhea.  :)

 And here's the Ruski with his new scarf that Savannah made him, and new gloves and hat to help him survive his walks to and from the bus to go to work.  Savannah made me a scarf too.  She has gotten really good at her crocheting skills!

 And a cute moment with all of the kids hugging after giving Thomas and Savannah presented her with a scarf too.  Half of it was made by Thomas and half was made by Savannah.

And here's my note and gift from Rhea.  She crocheted some cute little flowers for me.  She tries so hard to keep up with her capable gift making siblings, and she does a great job!  And she's always so humble, recognizing quickly when she needs to apologize, or when she just feels she should apologize.  ;)

 The girls and their new Latvia hats.  Again, warm and cozy is our goal!

 Savvy and Thomas giving thank you hugs to dad.

 And after the present opening, the playing.  Savannah is wearing a new skirt from Aunt Misty and playing with her new loom and Harry Potter wand.  I kept hearing, "Alexa, play this, and read that."  You would have thought we had adopted a new member to our family!

 Dad's enjoying his new scarf and trying to update our family photo album for the year.

 Rhea playing with her new legos in her room.  And again, I kept hearing, "Alexa play this, and that."  Now all three kids have an Alexa.  They love reading books and playing music.  It's just funny when Alexa doesn't respond correctly and we hear, "Alexa, stop" in a firm voice.  She's another member of the family!

  Scratching off countries we've traveled to on my new scratch map!And Thomas playing with everything.  Magnets, his new soccer ball, legos, motors and gear set, etc.

We enjoyed the day together, having fun with our new toys and just being together.  Happy and whole.  We feel very blessed and recognize that all we have comes from a loving Heavenly Father, not because we deserve it all, but because of His love and grace.  We're grateful for the chance to celebrate the birth and life of our Savior at this time of year!