Christmas

Christmas Eve-

I love when Christmas Eve or Christmas Day falls on a Sunday.  It's just so wonderful to go to church and worship on those days.  I am excited for it to happen again in several years.

I haven't bought Christmas dresses for a while because is didn't seem like a necessity but this year it was.  None of the girls had good winter dresses so I told them they could each pick one out.  Ivy's wasn't looking to make it in time so I quickly bought the red and black one for cheap on Amazon and it was super cute on her.  Justin and Stockton got new ties.  I just used the new dress I got for Ivy's baptism earlier in the year...it's new enough for me!  We cleaned up pretty nice and were happy to go to church as a family that morning.

We only had sacrament meeting and it was filled with music.  I accompanied two women singing a beautiful song as well as a group of Primary girls on another song.  I also played the closing song with the organ while the congregation stood.  Justin was the only speaker of the day.  He did a great job and it was a good hour.

It was a Moyes Christmas Eve and we went ahead with the tradition, even though Mom and Dad were thousands of miles away.  We held the party at Ali's house and we were able to start early since it was Sunday.  We had dinner and the kids acted out the nativity.

back to front: Gavin, Stockton, Grant, Tessa, Molly, Seth, Spencer, Brynn, Lucy, Ivy, Josie, Harper, Ada Hamilton (my cousin Caitlin's daughter), Abby, Grace

Seth, Lucy, Chloe, Ivy, Brynn, Josie, Grace, Abby, Molly, Spencer, Tessa, Gavin, Stockton, Grant, Ada, Porter Hamilton, Harper

The cousins did their gift exchange.  Molly got some beauty product (I can't remember and the picture is not helping me out at all), Stockton got a Stance hat, Brynn got a sweater, and Ivy got marbling paint.  We also played some games that Erin M. had planned.  It was nice to have the party earlier because it meant we weren't getting home super late. We even stopped to see some cool lights when we got back into Heber.  There is a house in Cobblestone that sets up their lights to music and we hadn't been to see it yet.

Tessa, Molly, Lucy, Ivy, Josie

Abby, Grace, Ivy, Brynn, Gavin, Grant, Stockton, Ali

Spencer, Brynn, Ivy, Seth, Lucy

  We got home at a decent time but the kids weren't quite ready to go to bed.  They took some time to set up their beds in Stockton's room while we unpacked the car and threw together the food for our breakfast the next morning.  They probably watched/finished a movie.  Justin read The Night Before Christmas to them.  Brynn and Ivy realized they forgot to set out cookies and milk for Santa so they quickly ran upstairs to do that.  And then all was quiet for the rest of the night.

Christmas morning!  The kids lined up on the basement stairs for a picture and waited for the go-ahead to run upstairs to see what Santa had brought.

We had Christmas in the living room this year since we didn't have a tree up in the loft.  It was great.  They each got two gifts and three stocking stuffers.  Molly got a Shark watch and Chacos.  In her stocking was Spotify Premium for another year, an Owala water bottle, and the Speak Now Taylor Swift record.

 

Stockton got another baseball glove (third year in a row-I guess he can never have enough?!?) and a sliding glove.  He also got arm sleeves, an electric razor + aftershave, and Dr. Pepper for his mini fridge.

Brynn got a Stanley water bottle and a weighted blanket.  Also lotion + perfume, a Bentgo lunch box, and a Taylor Swift Eras movie hoodie.

 

Ivy got a coat and a new Kindle.  She also got a reading light, Lego Dots, and a Bentgo lunch box.

It was an easy Santa year...no big gifts and not a lot of toys, which is a new stage for us!

Breakfast was next.  We were having a special visitor this year.  The day before, after sacrament meeting, we met a man who was visiting from China.  His name is Steve.  He had randomly picked a church and time to attend and ended up in our ward!  He met our Elders Quorum President who then introduced him to Justin and by extension, our whole family.  He was very interested in the church so Justin found him a Book of Mormon and we talked to him for a while but it was Christmas Eve and so we were ready to get home.  Molly at the last minute suggested that we invite him over for Christmas morning breakfast.  Justin hesitated for a sec and then invited to him and he accepted.  So...that is how we got to this point and our special Christmas guest.  I will admit that I had reservations about bringing a stranger into my home but Justin went ahead and drove over to where he was staying (he didn't have a car) and brought him home.  Breakfast was creme brulee French Toast, ham and egg cups, egg nog, chocolate milk, berries, and bacon.  Steve was very polite and ate everything.  He was a great conversationalist, if a little hard to understand at times (for me anyway, Justin did better).  He was very nice and I needn't have worried.  We really enjoyed having him.  He talked about living in China and how the government rules everything.  He said something that really stood out to us...he said that coming here and seeing how we work hard, are honest, and value families-that that is humanity.  Inside we were all thinking, "that is the gospel of Jesus Christ!"  He was not in Heber for more than a few days and was moving to LA so we were able to look up the church where he was going.  We found him a Mandarin ward near where his home was going to be and he took a picture of the location and time that they were going to meet.  Then Justin drove him back to his hotel.  He continues to text Justin-he's attended the ward, met with the missionaries, attended a baptism, and has his own Mandarin Book of Mormon now.  We're not sure what will happen with our friend Steve but this ended up being a really neat experience for our family and we are glad we acted on Molly's prompting to have him over.

**Update: Steve continued to investigate the gospel, even after moving to Seattle.  On March 9, 2024, we were able to watch via Zoom as Steve was baptized and became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  What a testimony of God's love for all of His children and His ability to put all of us in positions to bless each others' lives.  He truly has a plan for all of us!

Our morning continued.  We cleaned up breakfast and then went back to presents.  The kids each had two more gifts...one from Justin and I and one from their siblings.  Molly got a perfume sampler (a whole bunch of perfume samples with a voucher to exchange her favorite for a full-size bottle) and a Taylor Swift "Red" sweater.

Stockton got weighted balls and bands for working out and Nike's.

Brynn got a gel nail kit and a marquee letter B and tabletop calendar-she takes off one paper each day and at the end of the year she will have a pretty Japanese cherry tree.  Justin saw one at a doctor's office and thought it was so cool.  She has used her nail kit multiple times each week, sometimes daily.

Ivy got some "Hey Clay!" modeling clay and wildflower canvases to put in her room that she is hoping to get re-modeled soon. (Hint: for her birthday.)

And that's all the pictures I took for the rest of the day.  I can't believe that I did that, it's so unlike me.  We relaxed the entire day and it was wonderful.  I put some snack-y foods out for lunch and then we had rigatoni and sausage for dinner with a loaf of rosemary bread I had in my freezer.  We talked to my mom and dad on the phone and Gene, April, and Brett came up for a while and ate dinner with us.  It really was just a perfect day.  Merry Christmas!