I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We sure did. In fact, according to our kids, this was the best year ever. They kept saying over and over, “Mom, this is the best Christmas ever!” And I agree with them.
Last night I was reflecting back on why this was the best Christmas. Besides Santa nailing every present and squeals of delight from the kids on almost every gift, I came to the conclusion that this was the Best Christmas Ever because my mom and dad gave us the best Christmas Present Ever.
(Take note if you are a grandma now or ever want to be an awesome grandma…or aunt or uncle or friend or sister….)
My mom called me on Christmas Eve Eve and offered to host a sleepover with all of the grandkids that night so that we (her kids) could have kid-free time to prepare for Christmas! My mom said what she would have given to have some kid free time before Christmas when she was a young mom. She wanted to give us what she never had.
We dropped the kids off at 6:00 pm and my dad made his famous hamburgers. The girls loved being together in their matching jammies. (Pardon the poorly lit pictures from the camera phone)
Here are the two heroes with Locke. He got special treatment and felt like such a big boy.
Chad and I went to dinner and then we headed home to tackle the project that lay ahead. We put on a movie and wrapped and wrapped, assembled, sorted, counted, and assessed. We got to bed before mid-night and had a full night’s sleep with no little bodies coming into our bed around 2 am.
We picked up the kids the next morning, but I felt so much calmer on Christmas Eve knowing most of the work was done. I enjoyed the day baking gingerbread cookies and egg nog cake balls and I even had time to pack some food storage.
On Christmas Eve, Chad and I were asleep by 11 pm. It made a world of difference on Christmas to have had a good night’s sleep the night before.
Thanks so much to my mom and dad for the best Christmas Present Ever. They are always trying to make our lives better than theirs. I often wonder how they did what they did with 10 kids. They become more impressive the older I get.
Now I am just wondering… Mom and dad, is it too early to declare this a tradition?
![I spoke in church today and said the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the greatest act of Charity. I read Moroni 7:45-47 to make my point. But wherever there was the word ‘Charity’ I substituted it out for ‘the Atonement of Jesus Christ.’ See if these scripture verses now have new meaning for you:
“And the Atonement of Jesus Christ suffererth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth in the truth,
[The Atonement of Jesus Christ] beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not the Atonement of Jesus Christ, ye are nothing, for the Atonement of Jesus Christ never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto the Atonement of Jesus Christ, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail-
But the Atonement of Jesus Christ is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.”
So Easter really reminds us of love. The first and greatest commandment.](https://www.raisinglemons.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png)
Wow, that is a tradition I would love to hint at my parents! What a great chance for Santa to get “organized”. 🙂
YOUR family is AMAZING to infinity and beyond!!!! I don’t have any extended family and it was so hard to prepare for Christmas this year while working 2 jobs. Thanks for sharing for your all an inspiration to ME!