Merry Christmas 2012

So I know its the end of January but I am finally sitting down to write about Christmas. We spent our Christmas in Charleston this year and it was nice. Mike and I had our shopping done well before the holiday so we weren't stressed at all. However, I got to help my mom a lot with shopping especially since my brother didn't give her his list until the 20th of December. I always enjoy being back home for Christmas especially since its fun to have other people around to bake goodies and of course we go to the Festival of Lights. Another plus this year.....no one was sick on Christmas!

One of my favorite activities was the festival of lights. We went on Mike's birthday and it was a great birthday present for him. This year he got to drive which if you know him you know he LOVED that he got to drive all the way to James Island and the three mile park. Mainly he wanted to see the park from the front seat since last time we were stuck in the back. Anyway, the lights were wonderful as usual, it wasn't too cold or crowded but the sand sculpture was a bit of a disappointment (again). I don't know why but every year that Mike goes the sand sculpture is weird and lame.

So you can judge for yourselves (The other side was a big girl by a Christmas tree)

Usually we make tons of junk food and Christmas treats. However, this year we all agreed that the last thing we all needed was enough junk food in the house to feed an army so just made a few cookies and gave the majority of them away. It was fun to bake them though :)

The only explanation for the next pictures is this.....it was late on Christmas Eve and we were all very tired and excited for Christmas the next morning. Mike and Joshua decided to represent Sherman and Joshua wanted to match Mike so he is wearing my pajama pants....I really do love my weird little brother but I think I love the fact that Mike encourages him a lot more.

In this picture they are dancing and singing the "No Underwear for Christmas" song to Santa

We had a wonderful Christmas and we are so grateful for the wonderful gifts that we received. We spent all day playing with our new toys. Thank you to everyone who made it such a great day and a fun trip.

We were also able to spend time remembering the true meaning of Christmas, the Savior. I was lucky enough to be able to sing in my parents ward's Christmas program which was wonderful. I love singing and the music of Christmas is one of my favorite things. Nothing helps me feel close to the Savior like music does. It was also wonderful to help my mom teach the sunbeams. We got to watch a Christmas movie and we read the story of the Savior's birth. We read it again as a family on Christmas Eve.

I hope that we can all remember the reason for Christmas, Christ's birth, all year. Christ came to earth and lived and died for us so that we could return to live with Him again. He is the perfect example of who we should all aspire to become. I'm so grateful that He was born and for His life.