as per your request

Here are the Christmas pictures. I have hesitated posting them because I am a little embarrassed by our Christmas gluttony. I guess we were making up for the hotel Christmas we had last year. Not that it wasn't lovely and full of spoils, it was just so weird.

I was having "gifters remorse" as I was laying out the packages that had been stock piling in the garage pantry since September. I actually had been keeping track of what I bought, but it looked so innocent on paper. In 3-D form, sprawled out on my living room floor, however was another story.

All I kept thinking about was did we really remember the true meaning of Christmas?

As I justified every purchase, I remembered that we had shopped our pantry for 2 food drives, searched for the perfect cosmetics to be delivered to a deserving 17 year old who's name I drew off a tree at Wal-mart, dragged the kids to Nativity displays and a Messiah sing along and a lot of the presents were actually paid for by money sent from the various grandparents, and others sent from uncles, aunts and cousins.

After fretting over the materialism of both myself and my kids for the better part of a week, I read this post last night, shortly before dinner. It lead me to ask the question of my own kids, "What if we didn't have money this year and there was nothing under the tree?"

Carter, who is growing up so fast every day that I feel like I am on the express train to graduation and a goodbye at the doors to the MTC, said, "It'd be OK, Mom. We have a lot of nice stuff all ready."

And Ethan, my sensitive soul who is losing that mischievous little boy quality for a more sedated, calmer version of himself, said, "Yeah, its good as long as we have a house to live in."

Olivia assured me that Santa would come bring us presents anyway









Here we are having Christmas Eve dinner with the Teeples. These guys are a great family and we love doing stuff with them. Christmas afternoon they hosted us, and our other friends, the DeKays and Kellers. We are so blessed to have such great friends! Thanks guys!








Ethan got his MP3 player. He loves to listen to the Twilight soundtracks, Amazing Grace with bagpipes and the Mormon Tabernacle choir, and Lady Gaga's Just Dance. Quite an eclectic mix, if I do say so myself.

Olivia fell in love with the American Girl doll catalog earlier this year. And she kept wanting "the girl with the llama." That was the 2009 doll of the year, Chrissa. Good thing Santa came through...just look at that face!


Ethan is discovering the TV behind the tree that Santa left.

Don't tell my other kids, but I think Ethan is my cutest on Christmas morning. His face is so expressive.
Me and my new hat. I am into hats this year.

So is Ethan. Again, look at that face!

Carter and the XBox game that he wanted. To go with the XBox Santa got a good deal on. Turns out there are 2 XBox 360's and we got the one that needed a separate external hard drive to play the original XBox games. And with no stores open Christmas day, it was worse than not having batteries for Tickle Me Elmo.

Santa surprised JaDee by fitting all of his presents into one box. He got some new backpacking gear to make his pack lighter and his sleeping on the ground more comfortable. everything in the box weighed less than 5 pounds. And that was a new mess kit, sleep and and a down jacket.


JaDee got me Nie Nie's All is Well necklace. I had completely forgotten that I showed it to him months ago. It was the perfect token for our first year in Alaska. For some people music is what moves them. I too, love music, but it has always been the power of words that give me solace. I have loved the peace that reading these words around my neck throughout the day, has given me.

For all IS well.