Christmas this year was amazing! I am so grateful to my family for always making it so exciting to get together. This year my sister Amy had the wonderful idea of adopting a family to give gifts to instead of getting gifts for each other. So on the 23rd we all got together to wrap up all the gifts and deliver them to the family. When we arrived at the address we knocked and knocked and no one came. Thankfully an annoying neighbor (from previous conversation) told us to try the back door. When they came to the door the man told Amy that the family we were looking for had moved. We were all stunned and I think some of us were on the verge of tears as we held these pile of gifts thinking they would never get to the deserving family. Luckily the man said he knew them and where they had gone and let us use his phone to call them. As Amy was talking to the woman on the other end she found out she lived in Magna (I have no idea where that is, but it sounded far away) and then Amy asked how many kids she had.....too many. It wasn't the right woman. Amy started to list the children and their names in hopes that it would ring a bell, but it only confirmed that the mother on the phone was not the person we were looking for. While she is rattling off the names the man waiting patiently at the door exclaims "That's my family!" Apparently we were at the right house, but the father was confused as to why we were there. We were all so excited and started to carry our gifts inside. The kids were so adorable and excited. Their mother seemed overwhelmed and very grateful. Many of us were in tears as we sang a Christmas song and exited the home. It was such an incredible experience, and I am so grateful that we did it together as a family.
The trip just kept getting better as we got to spend time together as a family. We laughed to the point of crying on Christmas Eve when Bill busted out a box of waxed lips for us to try on. We all looked so ridiculous and you can check it out on my sister's blog if you like. We made sugar cookies for Santa Claus on Christmas eve and drove home as the snow began to fall. We had a very relaxing morning and began preparing food. Everyone arrived around two and my mother found a creative way of getting around the "no present" policy this year. Instead she gave each family a stack of "wishes". I wish I could remember them all and the phrasing she used. I was overcome by their generosity and the love that they have for all of us. It was so exciting, almost like a childhood Christmas. We ate dinner which was DELICIOUS and headed to the ward for some friendly family dodgeball. The snow was falling so hard that we had inches within hours and my brother's (ages 21 and 22) convinced my 13 year old nephew to go sledding at 11 PM. they came in later and recruited my youngest nephew Tate....it must have been some fantastic sledding.
Amy hosted an extended family party Friday night and all braved the snow to be there. We had so much fun pretending to be awesome musicians on Rock Band, playing cards, eating good food, and enjoying eachother's company. We ended our trip with Christopher's birthday on Sunday. I can't believe my youngest brother is 21! He is such a kind and genuine person.
I love my family so much, and feel so blessed to have each of them in my lives. I wish i got to see them more, and hope that I get to see them sooner rather than later. Thank you all for creating such incredible memories with me. oxoxo
