Kicking off the Season

Monday, December 10, 2012

Kicking off the Season

This is our first Christmas in our new house.

It was fun to figure out how to arrange the furniture to make room for the tree.

And now that we have a house and place to store things,

I am hoping to start collecting more and more decorations.

(Starting with a bigger tree - hopefully to be found on clearance after Christmas is over this year.)

As excited as I was to pull out our ornaments and the few decorations we have,

Ammon and Peter were even more thrilled.

It was fun to hear them exclaim, "I remember this!" time and time again.

I want to have more traditional things for them to remember, before these years are over.

Once again, Christmas season is the middle of finals for me.

While I went to LifeStone for my internship, Andrew took the boys to Home Depot.

They had fun making projects.

(Shhhh. Don't tell them I've already seen these pictures - I'm getting their projects as gifts!)

I'm glad they had fun visiting with Santa while they were there.

Since Tucano's gives a free meal to anyone with a birthday, lunch there has become an annual tradition.

For Andrew's birthday he and I go as a date.

For Ammon and my birthday, we make it a family affair.

Ammon still loves the chicken hearts.

He just couldn't get enough.

Peter loved the bacon wrapped sirloin.

It took us a while to convince him to try anything else.

Finally he decided that the brown-sugar ham was pretty good too.

And of course they both LOVE the grilled pineapple.

This year the briscut was my favorite.

Andrew enjoyed the buffalo chicken and bacon wrapped turkey.

After lunch we went to the Andrew's parents house to make cookies.

This has turned in to such a fun tradition - we do it every Christmas season.

The recipe is one that has been in the Shadel for generations and I have come to love these cookies!

And as much as I love the cookies, the memories of making them together are even better.

Of course, we can't kick off Christmas in this house without watching this video a dozen times or so.

I grew up loving this song - mostly because my dad loved it.

We were so excited when the Tabernacle Choir, which my mother-in-law was a member of, themed their concert around this a few years ago.

Even with our enthusiasm, neither Andrew nor I anticipated loving this story as much as we do.

This year seemed to have a lot of really hard situations highlighted in the news.

I was grateful to listen to this yet again and be reminded that even when things seem dark, there is still light.

I've also enjoyed a few nights out for Christmas festivities.

The ladies in my neighborhood did a tour of four homes where we learned about different traditions.

It was a really fun night.

I also had the chance to attend an ornament exchange party.

I'm still wrapping up school and getting ready to apply for graduate school.

But somehow, I've been able to also breathe a little and enjoy the season.

And in just a few more days, hopefully I'll be able to immerse myself in holiday cheer even more.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas!

1 comment:

UnknownDecember 10, 2012 at 5:54 PM
I love that song too. It was a tradition in the ward I grew up to sing it on the very first Sunday in December. I went and heard Ed Herrman performance and it was amazing how well he captured the essence of the story of how the song came to be.
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Family Proclamation

The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children.All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God's commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God's eternal plan.Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. "Children are an heritage of the Lord" (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

This proclamation was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah.