Christmas Day

Just for the record--this was our best Christmas EVER!! The reason is we all slept in. There were no little children in this house necessitating an early rising. Well, there was a baby...Newland...but he wasn't aware it was Christmas and he didn't have an agenda of needing to be up super early so he could open up all his Christmas presents before the crack of dawn.

When Ben finally moseyed down to the kitchen for breakfast, he was happy to see Santa had gifted the Thomas household with the traditional little cereals.

Glen wanted to try his hand at a different version of prime rib for Christmas dinner. Last one was covered in rock salt. This one was covered in herbs and seasonings. Yes--that is Glen actually chopping up fresh thyme. He was quite the meat chef. Thankfully, we had so many leftovers from the night before that I didn't even have to make anything to go along with it.

I was finally starting to feel the second 10-day round of antibiotic kicking in to fight off the pneumonia. That many days of being so sick definitely took its toll on me. I was feeling much better on Christmas than the day before, so things were definitely looking up!

Here are Abe, Klarissa, Newland and Ben ready to open gifts.

Rebecca and Sarah's families had done their stockings and Santa gifts at their own homes and joined us here at 11 a.m. to open presents together. Brooke was super anxious to show us what she had gotten. Looks like a My Little Pony extravaganza for her.

Let's just say we may have heard the Ponyville ferris wheel music at least a thousand times that day.

Poor Carson was sporting a cut eye. We were happy it didn't need stitches.

Abe kept the little people entertained for a few minutes with his car antics.

Caroline was having a great time lounging on the couch eating her little cereal while we had family pictures taken by the Christmas tree.

We were missing Jacob in this sibling picture.

Time for the presents!!!

We had the best idea ever!! We fed the little kids lunch at noon and then when the prime rib was done cooking in the mid afternoon, we were able to have an adult dinner while the kids napped or played with their new toys. It was perfect!

Brooke and Caroline talked Glen into playing Candy Land with them.

Mom and Dad arrived on the scene in time for dinner...or so they thought... Dinner was delayed quite a bit because it was taking the prime rib much longer to cook than the recipe suggested.

It was a good time for Mom and Dad to open their gifts. Look! We have matching gifts... Let the tradition of going to see plays at Hale Centre Theatre continue!

Sarah and Rebecca not only gave us updated photos of their families, they gave photos to their grandparents as well.

While waiting for the prime rib to cook, we all congregated in the living room to read the story of the birth of Christ. Here are Dallas and Rebecca cuddling on the couch. They were thinking about their anniversary the next day.

Dad was ecstatic when Abe loaded all his ward's phone numbers into his new cell phone. Dad's trying hard to become a cell phone enthusiast.

Dad was chosen to be the one to read from the Bible.

During the reading, Carson was eyeing Caroline's new baby doll. She was trying to distract him with the rattle.

When she wasn't looking, he went in for the grab.

   Dinner finally is served. And boy was it worth the wait! YUM!! Great job, Chef Glen!!!!

Finished up the evening with a rousing game of cards. (Notice Brooke takes the importance of wearing a helmet very seriously.)

The end of a very lovely Christmas day.

Christmas Eve

We had a very nice and fun Christmas Eve party at our house. There was a lot of delicious food. Thanks to good participation from family members, there was a fun program following dinner.

Thirty-seven people were in attendance at the party. My parents, all of my siblings and their families and our children and their families were invited to attend. We were missing Jacob's family of seven, Mark's family of seven and Zack who is serving a mission.

Here are some random shots of those who came.

The program began with Ben's claymation presentation he had to make for school.

Mike brought a package of Twinkies and wanted someone to stuff them both in his mouth. Dallas was willing.

And so was Spencer. Looks like Sarah was willing to take a mouthful as well.

The Golden family had a group sing-along.

Rachel played the piano.

Maggie played the violin.

Bryce did some air guitar playing.

Abe showed a funny Christmas sweats song while Spencer entertained us through the bars.

Dad told a Christmas story.

Lorene was our December birthday girl. She looked so beautiful in her blue outfit.

Glen and Dallas hanging out after the program.

Rachel and Maggie made some cute reindeer cookies.

Enjoying dessert after the program.

Topping the night off with a little eggnog.

Good night, sleep tight. Santa Claus is coming to town!!

Quotes of the Week

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning."
 -- Albert Einstein

"The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are: Hard work, Stick-to-itiveness, and Common sense."
 -- Thomas A. Edison

"Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up.  It is always tired morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired. When you were younger the mind could make you dance all night, and the body was never tired... You've always got to make the mind take over and keep going."
-- George S. Patton