Christmas

Well, we had quite a Christmas. We started celebrating on Christmas Eve by driving around and looking at Christmas lights. Then, we used Google Talk to video chat with Eric's family so that Brian could hear Grandma Johnson read The Littlest Angel.

Then, we did quite a bit of reading on our own. Brian was really excited to help read this year. He read Beyond Bethlehem (a Book of Mormon Christmas story)to Matthew and Natalie. Then, he was really excited to use Eric's new tablet to read Luke 2. We finished off by Brian and me reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Before they went to bed, the boys wrote notes for Santa and left out some cookies. Brian's said, "Dear St Nick, Enjoy the cookies. Thank you for the presents. Merry Christmas. Love, Johnsons." Matthew was much more direct. He just wanted to hang up a sign that said, "Nice" just in case Santa was confused about whether he was naughty or nice. Despite the fact that his C looks like an O, I'm impressed with how his writing is coming along. A few months ago, he didn't have any interest in letters at all. Click the picture to see it bigger.

I guess Santa got the message because by Christmas morning, our living room was bursting.

When we started opening gifts, Matthew was beyond excited. I was surprised when the first thing he did was grab a present for Eric and hand it to him. Of course, this was because Matthew knew that I'd gotten Eric a Lego Millenium Falcon.

It didn't take long though, for the kids to get excited about opening their own presents. There were lots of Angry Birds and Star Wars toys. Natalie got some pacifiers which she liked, but couldn't quite figure out how to open the package. She also got a little walker and an activity table which she's enjoyed a lot. Of course, Brian got the atlas he asked for and my mom sent the boys a remote control train which made Matthew happy.

Then we got ready and went to church. I sang in the choir and in a duet. When we got home, everyone got to work playing with their gifts. Eventually, we made a nice dinner (ham, rolls, potatoes, etc). At bedtime, Brian said, "I'm sad because Christmas is leaving." I guess that means that the day was a success.