CO Continued

We left Fruita on Saturday morning and drove to CO Springs to stay the night with Megan and Jeff. The mountains were so pretty with snow. 

It's been years since we've been at the Denver temple all together so I was grateful when Aaron stopped for us to spend a few minutes together at the temple grounds. We have our wedding pictures in our bedroom and I love that the pictures are in front of this temple. We reminisced about our wedding day and told the kids all about it. 

We also stopped by our old house and the AF Academy. The kids laughed as Aaron told them all about being a cadet. 

When we arrived at the Raverts, they were excited to share their Christmas presents with us! Look at these fun toys.

On Sunday we attended church with the Raverts before driving home. I felt so grateful that our kids have covenant keeping Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents. I know my cousins had a big influence into my decisions to attend college, EFY, serve a mission, marry in the temple... so I love when our kids can be with our extended family!

Christmas in CO

Austin kept asking when we were going to see Santa. It worked out for us to drop by in Grand Junction! We left Sunday after church and drove to Alex's house where we spent the night. Then, we drove to my parents' house. The drive was beautiful. 

Yay for cousin time!

The boys went ice fishing for the day so the girls shopped in preparation for Christmas!

With the time change, I woke up early one morning and finished my book by the Christmas tree. It's been a while since I've read an actual book (usually I listen to something) so I loved making reading a priority. Here's so more reading for me in 2025.

Christmas Eve - nativity!

Christmas Magic! The kids were excited for their presents. Really, they loved their cousin time more than their gifts and I'm grateful they are realizing that relationships really are more important than "stuff."

The weather was so beautiful that we decided to take a family hike!

The rest of the day included watching the Chief's play and enjoying their gifts. 

Alex and her family arrived that afternoon and we had a nice dinner followed by a family talent show that included lots of singing and dancing!

Other activities during the time together included a tea party for the girls and shooting for the boys. We all went rock climbing, played dodgeball, basketball and games. 

I did get sick on Christmas night. My stomach wasn't feel right and I went to bed with a stomachache. I cried and said out loud that I'd feel better if I threw up. Sure enough, a few minutes later I did throw up. I did feel better, but I was exhausted. Thankfully I slept well and woke up feeling weak. I rested most of the day and finally perked up about 24 hrs from getting sick. I'm so grateful no one else got sick. I'm so grateful that Aaron and my mom were around to help with the kids while I rest and got better. 

Christmas really is about the memories together! I'm not sure when we'll all be together again for Christmas, but I'm so grateful we have these memories to hold on to until we're all tougher again.

Family party

We weren't sure if we'd drive to CO for Christmas. It depended on the weather. The weather looked clear so we decided to make the trip. Usually I love being home for Christmas, but I felt like if it worked out for use to go to my parents' house, we should make an effort to be there. I'm grateful Aaron supported this decision. I also felt sad that we'd miss out on our time as a little family for Christmas. As I was preparing dinner on Saturday evening, we decided to make an impromptu family party. The girls helped me set the table. We used my birthday flowers and made little bouquets for decorations. I loved this special moment together. We lit candles and enjoyed sitting down together to eat. 

Dinner was simple - since we were leaving for CO, we ate whatever food we had in the fridge/freezer. I took a minute to soak this moment in and I felt so grateful for Christmas and family and togetherness. 

After we ate, we opened a few presents. The kids shared their sibling gifts with each other. Eleanor made me this bracelet! She put so much time into her gifts! Her thoughtless made my heart burst with love for her!

Adelaide decided that since she loved her gum ball machine so must that she'd get Eli one. He loved it!

Eleanor also made Adelaide this necklace. 

The kids also bought their presents from the Volk's!

Austin made Aaron and me a calendar! He bought Eleanor a Harry Potter wand as well as a sorting hat. He knows Eleanor is loving Harry Potter right now so it was so cute to see him pick out these gifts for Eleanor. Eli decided on a Gene stuffy from Aladdin for Austin. He loved it! The kids were so cute with their thoughtfulness and Christmas cheer!

December

A couple from our ward dropped off this massive tin of popcorn! We were so excited! 

Adelaide and I attended the class parties at the elementary school. Austin looked festive in his Christmas sweater. 

Adelaide felt lucky that she was able to have a cupcake too!

December filled up so quickly that we realized we had one evening that worked for us go to the Giving Machines. We love this tradition of donating simple items to local charities! 

One morning as the kids were getting ready for school, Adelaide came downstairs and asked for a bath. She had thrown up in the night!! I gave her a bath and then Aaron tucked her back into our bed where she slept for several more hours. I kept checking on her and didn't know what to do while she slept. I felt so lost! What will I do when she goes to school someday?? Thankfully she woke up and was back to her self. 

The girls and I went to the Nutcracker. There is a local ballet studio that preforms it. It's shorter than the traditional story and the prices are so reasonable, we love to make it a little tradition. 

Kids at Christmas time really is the happiest time. I love these little girls with all my heart. I feel like Eli and Austin were just this age. 

Adelaide's Dance

Adelaide has watched all her siblings perform and participate in sports/activities for her whole life! She finally got a turn to take the stage! We love our dance studio. They have a simple Christmas recital and the money from the tickets are given to charity. 

I volunteered to be the room mother and I loved seeing these cute girls together!

The family supporters! Adelaide was nervous before the show and screamed that she didn't even like dance anymore. There are moments in parenting that it's easy to avoid the conflict, but I knew once she got to the church for the performance, she'd enjoy seeing her little friends and she'd get excited. I was right! She loved the recital and did great. Sometimes I don't know all the answers in building confidence in kids, but I have found that even pushing kids in moments like this can be a healthy way to learn how to cope and build confidence. Way to go, Adelaide!

Speaking of Adelaide - she got a bubble gum machine for her birthday. When she discovered she could retrieve all the money from the bottom of the machine, she squealed with excitement. As we talked about Christmas and giving gifts, Eleanor helped Adelaide wrap little presents for everyone and the gifts were a few cents from her bubble gum machine. She insisted that I open my present. I was in tears as I discovered her simple, thoughtful gift. As I prayed that evening and reflected on her gift, I felt like she helped me better understand the true meaning of Christmas. She offered all that she had to bring happiness to others. Her gift came from the heart and I could feel her love from her simple gift!