Merry Christmas to You

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire

Okay, there were no chestnuts for us this year (or really any year) and this was as close as we got to an open fire...but it was AWESOME. Uncle Royal had a real Christmas tree with real candles this year. It was magical.

Jack Frost nipping at your nose

I think we shall name our door snowman Jack Frost in retrospect. Ammely did an awesome job making our snowman...she even did the cutting all by herself. 

Yuletide carols being sung by a choir

Hmmm....yuletide...yule...sounds like mule...which is kind of like a horse...

Ammely and Ammon got to ride Max's horse on Christmas day! It was such an unexpected treat.

And in the way of singing and choirs and such, we got this awesome and much needed gift from Mama and Daddy this year! We're very excited to have beautiful, in-tune music in our home (you know...from Ammon...no amount of piano tuning could ever tune-in my musical abilities)!

And folks dressed up like Eskimos

Bashas, a local grocery store chain, brought in some snow one weekend and we made sure the kids got to go and play in it. Who ever said you couldn't have a white Christmas in the Valley? It really was a lot of good, quick fun! 

Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe...

Okay, so it wasn't turkey. It was better. It was ham. And sweet potatoes. And chicken with rice. And cranberry sauce. And hot chocolate. And glazed carrots. And dessert. And everything came together just right to make this yet another fantastic Baysinger Christmas Party. Truly, it is one of my favorite events of the season!

...help to make the season bright.

We did it! After years of trying and failing...and even one failed attempt this year...we actually made it to the temple lights! I can't tell you how much this night filled my heart up. And how grateful I am that my husband made it happen for because he knew how much I wanted to go. It was a beautiful evening, the lights were stunning, the girls were excited and the hot chocolate we brought with us kept us nice and toasty!

Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow

You know what makes my eyes all aglow? The changes that happened at church this December for our tiny tots!

Lynnden officially went from roaming around with us all three hours...

...to nursery!

And Ammely enjoyed the fun and games of nursery for the last time...

...and then she graduated on up to Sunbeams!

Will find it hard to sleep tonight

You know why kids find it hard to sleep around Christmas time? No, no, no. Not Santa. Not presents. It's because of all the sugar!

Like hot chocolate and cinnamon-sugar toast.

And Santa Claus ice cream (you'll have to watch Ammely open her letter from Santa later in this post if you wish to understand what Santa Claus ice cream is).

And the gingerbread houses!
We made them from scratch this year and I think I'll make it a tradition. It really wasn't hard and then our whole house smelled SO good and Christmasy! Plus, it was a fun process all around...

Of course, if you're not careful that sugar will eventually bring you down to a sleep you can't fight. No, no, no. Not because of the crash after the high. But because you'll have so many cavities you'll have to be put under anesthesia at the Dentist to get them taken care of. Poor girl.

They know that Santa's on his way

The girls were especially excited to write letters to Santa this year. Well, Ammely was.

Lynnden seemed to be still stuck in the sugar-consumption mode and tried to convince herself that the markers were as delicious as Christmas cookies...

But we got our letters mailed off nonetheless and then eagerly checked the mailbox every day...

...and even went to see Santa on one of his local stops...

...until it came! A response from Santa!

This video is pretty fantastic. Santa wrote one fabulous letter to Ammely and she was very excited about it!

He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh 

Seriously. Lots of toys and goodies from many people's sleighs came into our home this year. It's kind of astounding really.

And just for my own record keeping, here's a breakdown of the gifts within our little family this year.

Ammon

Joyful: Electric Hedge Trimmer/Nursery Certificate

Meaningful: Home and Landscape Design Software

Needful: New Garments

Brelynn

Joyful: New Phone

Meaningful: Love Calendar

Needful: Phone Case

Ammely

Joyful: Tinkerbell Guitar

Meaningful: Locket

Needful: Cups

Lynnden

Joyful:Baby Doll

Meaningful: 10 minutes per day Mommy gift certificate

Needful: Car Seat

And every mother's child is gonna spy

My children aren't really at the "spying" age yet but they're sneaky enough to get into the spying business. Especially Lynnden. Here's just one example of the crazy shenanigans she's able to quietly get herself into:

Yup. That's one of my bras. I have no words.

To see if reindeer really know how to fly

These reindeer pancakes are so easy and so much fun AND so delicious! You should really try them out.

And so I'm offering this simple phrase to kids from one to ninety-two, although it's been said many times, many ways: Merry Christmas to you!