Long December

Except it wasn't long at all. It was the shortest December of all time. Did anyone else feel that way??

We had a very busy and very fun December. Of course I took almost no "real" pictures although I did take a few on my phone. Above was our magical little Christmas tree. This was the first year we did white lights instead of colored lights. The kids love colored lights and so do I--they always seemed more Christmassy to me--but you know what? I'm a convert. White lights are way more magical.

And we had an ice storm followed by a snow storm. Or maybe it was the other way around? Or maybe there were two snows and one ice? Don't actually remember. The kids had a few days off school and it was really fun. Snow days in December = infinitely better than snow days in January or February.

Also amid all the shopping and partying we wanted to do some non-busy, reason-for-the-season type things, so we went to the DC temple lights with Phil and Lynnette who visited in the middle of December since we weren't going to Utah for Christmas this year (sad face), and Matt did an advent thing with the kids each Sunday where he showed a video or read a quote or story from the life of Jesus Christ. We did a nativity of our own on Christmas Eve. And I think maybe our favorite new tradition was the children's nativity play at the National Cathedral. My friend Alexandra had told me about it a few years earlier and I had forgotten about it. I'm so glad we went, and I wish we had been going all along. It was adorable and stirring and so completely Christmassy. We'll be back next year for sure.

We had our first real Christmas at home ever, which was great. Matt and I have had one other Christmas at home which was the year I was 9 months pregnant with Theo and we were brand new to Virginia, so it really wasn't the same at all. One of the most fun things we did was have the kids save a dollar out of each allowance throughout the year to use solely on Christmas presents for each other and Matt and me. Matt took Theo one afternoon and I took Ida a few days later to do their shopping and Ida at least loved it. She reveled in having her own cash to spend, thinking about what each person would like, and carefully wrapping the gifts all by herself.

And now it's January which I actually love more than I thought I did. I love new beginnings. I love putting away all the Christmas decorations and starting fresh with healthier food and a cleaner house. Well, in theory anyway! At least the Christmas decorations are put away so that's 1 out of 3!