Christmas Card that never got sent

I had planned and prepared for a really quiet December this year.  My Christmas shopping was pretty much done by December 1st.  We put our Christmas tree up early and skipped some of the extra decorating with the Christmas village and elaborate outdoor lighting.  I just wanted to keep things simple and slow and meaningful.  One thing I didn’t expect was all the inquiries I would get from my photography business!  In the last six weeks I’ve shot somewhere around 12-15 photoshoots and 2 weddings.  It’s been wonderful; I’m grateful things have picked up. But it’s definitely not been the slow, peaceful December I had planned for.  Turns out we had a little glitch the last year and a half and the contact form on the website wasn’t notifying us of client inquiries.  So, during a website overhaul I found all the missed messages and corrected the problem – things have been quite busy since.

Ironically one of the things I meant to do was take our own Christmas card pictures and send Christmas cards.  Finally, the Sunday before Christmas I snapped a few at home before and after church in a last ditch effort to get the cards sent…..still didn’t happen, though.

Nonetheless, I thought I’d share the pictures and our yearly review here.  🙂  Consider this post our Christmas card that never was sent.

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McKay, our ‘baby’, is now a whooping 3 years old, though, he’s still very much babied and insists on being carried.  We fear his leg muscles may atrophy from lack of use. He was kind enough to potty train himself this past year despite our protests (we were in the middle of packing and moving the week he decided he was done with diapers).  His favorite activities include watching TV (unfortunately) and piecing together puzzles.  He loves fruits but passionately hates vegetables.  He speaks with a charming New England accent. He’s way too opinionated about his wardrobe and insists on wearing his “fastest clothes” each and every day.  Sunday is the one day he consents to dress up but sneaks his fastest clothes into the car and changes the second we get out of church.  He’s the family comedian, absolutely adorable, and overly loved by the whole family.

Mr. Jax is a responsible, organized, intelligent little guy.  He enjoys structure, challenges, and music.  He started preschool this year and it’s one of his greatest joys.  He begs to go……even on weekends!  Jax learned a hard lesson this year about the dangers of jumping from a sofa onto an exercise ball.  He has a BYU-blue cast in his room as a physical reminder to think before he acts.  Incidentally, he learned to ride a two wheel bike the day after he broke his arm, so, it didn’t limit his activities or physical development.  He was a lovely, relaxed baby but he’s become more emotional and stubborn over the past year. We offer daily prayers that his easy going temperament will one day return.  His soul is deep and sweet and we know he is a treasure.

The little lady is growing up way too quickly!  She’s enduring 1st grade but would much rather spend her days at home doing crafts and playing with dolls, all the while humming a tune and skipping about.  She loves poofy skirts, jumping on the trampoline, Frozen, chocolate chips, and animals. Sadie is extremely feminine yet loves to play with her brothers and many male cousins and is adored by the boys at school.  She’s a tooth-losing machine, has a bottomless pit for a stomach, and her teacher reports she’s one of the best behaved children she’s ever had. She radiates happiness and goodness and love.  She fills our home with lots of loud laughs and giggles. She’s a perfect, darling little girl and we thank God daily for blessing us with such a sweet daughter.

As for us, we’re tired but so happy!  This year felt exceptionally busy.  Each year kicks off with Ben’s busy season when he works long hours and we don’t see much of him for two months.  Then in March we sold our house in two days after listing it on a whim. We lived with Alicia’s parents while searching for a new home, found a new home, renovated the new home, and moved into the new home.  Thankfully the kids have adapted beautifully through the changes, and though the move was stressful, we’re so grateful to have a little more space and be so close to Ben’s office in our new home.  Our church service took up significant amounts of time this year as Ben was young men’s president and Alicia was the stake girls camp director (which she barely survived!).  Alicia’s loves her little escapes to photo shoots where she can be creative, meet new people, and earn extra money to support her hobby.   We celebrated Alicia turning the big 3-0 in July by booking a much-needed relaxing family beach getaway during which we were sinfully lazy.  Ben learned all sorts of new skills this year – how to removed old tile, replace plumbing fixtures, install toilets (third times the charm!), install fans (though, the lights tend to come on in at random times all through the night – still working out that kink), and refinish a staircase (see pictures below).  We’re still quite fond of each other and treasure the time we have together.

We’re thankful for dear friends and family who love us (despite our shortcomings) and hope and pray for our well-being and happiness, as we do for theirs. We’re thankful for a Savior whose love and life gives us hope and peace in hard times.  We’re grateful for God’s plan – the understanding of it gives this life meaning and purpose.  We’re grateful for the Savior’s example and teachings which we can use to pattern our lives after and in so doing feel happiness and peace.  We trust in His plan and follow His prompting as we navigate through this life.