Christmas 2009

Christmas this year, was very eventful. My family has had many changes this year, so I was unsure of how everything would turn out. I knew no matter what we would have a great Christmas and would be able to enjoy our time together with family and that everything would be great. I guess I was just a little unsure of what to expect. We had so many things happen that I wasn't sure what traditions we were keeping and what new things would come up. I love my family and I love the traditions we have. This year was very different, with my parents divorce and my mom moving, and having family in town. The whole month of December has just been very chaotic.
I'm not quite sure if we came up with new traditions but we had a great season. My brothers, sister, and I all went to the Allred Christmas party and were able to celebrate the season with them. It was nice to be able to get together with family we havn't seen forever. We all went out to eat, then went to Heber for the Christmas Talent Show/Program my family puts on. The kids all sing, read stories, or come up with a way to show their own talents, then they all dress up and grandpa reads the Christmas story and the kids are the nativity, then grandpa also has another Christmas story to top the night off. Its lots of fun and was great to see everyone.
Grandma Elms flew out early in the month to spend the holiday with us. It was fun having her here. Hopefully one day she'll have a normal trip out here. She was here when my mom had to move and she was a big help in that. My Aunt and Uncle and Cousins from Cali also took time to come here before Christmas. We were also able to get together with Pauls side and make our gingerbread houses. They were fun, but I get very impatient with it by the end. Paul ends up finishing it for us.
With my mom having to move and her house not being done we were unsure of where we would all be for Christmas. It ended up being spent at my sisters. It was a great day.
The thing to top off my Christmas was my dad came out here for a week to spend Christmas with us, thanks to my amazing step mom Stacy. This is the first Christmas he has been here and the last time we had Christmas with him, I was a JR. in highschool. He just left this morning. It was hard. I hate goodbyes, but i'm so glad he was here. That was an amazing gift Stacy. Thanks a lot.
With all my stress and worries Christmas wasn't too different at all. We spent most of Christmas Eve with my family, then went over to the live nativity in south jordan and drove around Pauls neighborhood to see the luminears. It was weird to see that most of the stake don't do it anymore, but Pauls home ward had them all out. It was pretty cool to see. We spent the night at his parents this year, so we wouldnt have to do more driving than necessary. We also were invited to my brother-in-laws family Christmas party on Christmas Eve. He has one of the best families I have ever met. His grandma went all out and did a nice dinner then we did a gift exchange with a game. It was way fun. Thanks for the invite Jage. We had Christmas breakfast with his family and exchanged gifts. Then we headed to my sisters and did gifts there then had a huge Christmas dinner. IT was a relaxing afternoon then we played games that night. It wasn't very unusual but it was way fun. I love my family and am grateful to have them in my life. I'm also lucky to have Paul and I couldn't ask for a better husband. I hope you all have a great New Years.