I am Grateful for Christmas

This year more than ever, I am grateful for Christmas.  As hard as it is to go through the holiday without my dad (and without our after-Christmas trip to Canada), it is the light I need to remind me that there is hope through our Savior and that there can still be joy and gladness in this world.  

I am grateful for the Magic:

Having little ones around at Christmas is magical.  Their sweet, pure belief that anything is possible is inspiring.

Elf on the shelf--Our Elf Stanley (who joined our family in 2010!!!) isn't always the most exciting or "active" elf, but this year he tried a little harder:)

We left Stanley a mini hamburger...and he ate it!!

Santa--We had our very own Santa visit this year haha.  Summer still wanted nothing to do with him, even though she was very aware that it was Dad.

 

I am grateful for the traditions:

There is comfort in doing the same thing year after year.  Traditions bring with them, so many treasured memories. 

Sunday--We had one who was less than cooperative for Christmas Sunday pictures this year.  Luckily we snapped a family selfie before Dad left for church.

 

Music--One of my absolute favorite things about this time of year is listening to my Christmas playlist, a combination of Elvis, Bing Crosby, Johnny Mathis, Michael Buble, David Archuleta with a few Justin Bieber and NKOTB mixed in.  This year some of those old holiday favorites were a little too full of memories for me, and I found myself tearing up every time they were on (even in the store).  So I listened to Jordan's playlist (which had a little more Justin Bieber and a little less Elvis) and that seemed to be a good compromise.

Gingerbread House--Who knew I was supposed to buy more than 1 gingerbread house?!  Usually, the kids don't care about helping Summer decorate it, but this year everyone was around without much else to do.  The only problem, when I went to buy more houses on Christmas Eve, they were sold out everywhere.  Maybe next year I will finally ditch the lame store-bought houses and tackle making my own!

Not pictured is the other side of the house that the store put together UPSIDE DOWN?!!

I am grateful for the lights:

Christmas lights are one of my absolute favorite things about Christmas.  Our traditional Evergreen Church light display was closed this year, which was sad (what's even sadder is I hit{and ran over}a raccoon when Tyson and I were driving by the church to see if the lights were up).  We didn't go to any light displays as a family, and Mike didn't even hang our outdoor lights. BUT I don't think I unplugged the indoor Christmas lights once all season.

Last year at the Evergreen Lights 

Tree--We all decorated our beautiful tree together.  It was so nice to have Jordan home this year.

Candles--Last year I bought one of these Scandinavian candle chime spinners that my dad loved.  This year I lit it and thought of my dad.

I am grateful for the giving:

Shopping served a little as therapy for me this year, so I may have gone a little overboard on gifts, but the spirit of giving is good right?!

Sibling gifts--This is always one of my favorites. I love having the kids open their sibling gifts on Christmas Eve because then they can give that gift their undivided attention and it won't get overshadowed by anything else they might get.

Summer got Tyson a tortilla blanket so he could REALLY wrap her up like a burrito:)

Opening gifts--The kids were all thrilled with their gifts this year (as they always are).  Jordan got a new tv, speaker, lulu leggings, wallet, Adidas sneakers, etc.  Kya got a new phone!!!, clothes, Friends lego, lulu leggings, makeup pallet, etc.  Tyson got the new XBOX series x, a winter jacket, slides, snow boots, a couple games, a hoodie, etc. 

I am grateful for the food:

Dinner--Went off without a hitch!!  Turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, even brussel sprouts yummy!!

Pulla--I made it on Dec 23rd this year so we still had some on Christmas.  So glad I learned how to make this and added it to our Christmas food list:)

Dessert--Brownie Trifle

I am grateful for something to celebrate:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Jesus--Jesus Christ is the real reason I am grateful for Christmas.  Without Him, there would be no hope, no reason to celebrate, no reason to hope.  I'm am grateful for His ultimate gift of eternal life.

21 Years

We missed out on our big Italy trip for our 20th last year due to Covid (we planned to go in May 2020). Most things are still closed around here for our 21st...even restaurants, so I thought we could splurge a little and stay somewhere nice.  We just did one night at Semiahmoo Resort and Spa.  We had an ocean view room, rode bikes, ate delicious food at the outdoor restaurant, and got some much needed time together.  This year has been the worst for me.  I am so grateful to have Mike by my side, lifting me up when I can't stand on my own.  I don't think I could get through these trials in life without him and he even makes me smile and laugh through it:)

I could not stop laughing on our bike ride!  Mike picked a bike with no brakes hahaha

Beautiful bike ride with the ocean on both sides of us.  It was cold, but at least it wasn't raining!

It was kind of weird eating outside...in the cold...wearing a coat.  But the fire was nice and warm, and the food was delicious!

We could see Vancouver!!!

Grieving

 Grieving is a strange thing.  At times I feel like I'm just plugging along doing ok, the next minute I'm sitting in my car in a puddle of tears, the next I'm at urgent care with chest pains, the next I'm comforting a friend who is going through something similar.  I will always miss my dad.  I will always wonder what might have been.  I will always have things that remind me of him and bring me to tears.  There will always be events that I wish he didn't have to miss out on.  There will always be people I wish could have met him.  There will always be things I wish I could tell him or ask him.  I don't think any of those things will ever go away and that hurts.  I miss him so much.  I feel so sad that my mom is alone.  Sometimes it feels like too much to bear.  I am grateful for the hope the gospel brings.  I am grateful for my sisters who know how I feel.  I am grateful for my mom.  Every time I call her, I feel better.  I am grateful for Mike and the kids who keep me going.  It's just hard.  Harder than I ever thought it could be.

I bought this necklace for me and all my sisters as a tribute to my dad...and a reminder that we have the strength to get through this.  Once when I called my mom when I was feeling really down, she said "Dad wouldn't want you to be sad".  I know he wouldn't.  I try to think about this when I am feeling sad, and it helps.  Love and miss you so much Dad.

New Hiking Partner

 When Mike and Tyson were preparing for High Adventure last summer, they went on a lot of hikes.  I was kind of jealous of the time spent outside, exploring the beautiful PNW.  But, the thing was, my foot was still not feeling great and I really didn't want to risk making it worse...plus I wasn't super excited to go on intense, uphill, all day long hikes.  Well, fast forward to November when it's super cold and rainy and my foot finally feels better...Mike and I set out hiking.

We really have just started out slow...our first "hike" was basically a walk on a paved path around a lake (not exactly what we thought it would be--good thing we were wearing hiking boots haha).  And we've done a couple relatively short, flat hikes with beautiful scenery.  I am excited to get into better shape and build up our endurance so that hopefully, this will be something we can do for years to come.

 Lake Tye

Redmond Watershed Reserve

Cherry Creek Falls

Bridal Veil Falls

Good for the soul!

Noteworthy Happenings

We don't have many exciting events to document these past few months because, well, we can't really do much when a lot of the world is shut down.  But we have had a few noteworthy happenings...

We bought a truck!  

(Kya gets to drive it...and it will pass down to Tyson when she leaves for college)

Tyson turned 15!

(And he is enrolled in Driver's Ed!!!)

Jordan (and Phoebe) got a new bed!

Summer lost her first tooth!

Jordan and Dad both voted in the presidential election!

(I was super excited when Mike asked me to drop off his ballot...and yes, we checked to make sure it was legal--haha)

We got to go back to church (with masks)!

Halloween, the same or different?

Halloween this year was definitely different...but also a little the same.

Same:  We visited the pumpkin patch and picked out pumpkins.

Different:  It was so muddy we could barely walk through the patch

Same: The kids dressed up        

Different:  They didn't get to wear their costumes to any parties

Same:  Summer got to go trick or treating

Different:  Summer only got to trick or treat at her teacher's house

Same:  We carved pumpkins

Different:  EVERYONE wanted to participate (yay)

Same:  We got lots of candy

Different:  We had to hunt for it with a flashlight in the backyard

At the end of the night, Summer announced she liked this kind of Halloween better than the normal kind...probably because she is still scared of trick or treating, but I'll call it a win.  

AND as long as we watch Charlie Brown Halloween and get to eat a couple peanut butter cups, almond joy and kit kat, I'm happy:)