Christmas Eve Day we were lucky enough to go to a movie, thanks to one of Ben's coworker's gifts to Cinepolis, the world's most luxurious movie theatre, in my opinion:)
We had truffle fries and churros and laid back and relaxed while we watched Sing.
That night we had a special dinner and talked about "seeking for Jesus."
Ether 12:41
"And now I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen."
These are our ornaments this year. It's one of our favorite Christmas quotes.
Christmas Even wasn't as beautiful and elaborate as I wish these things would be, but it worked. It was perfect.
I didn't plan to reenact the nativity, but Macey was so excited about doing it and Cody had built a manger and stable for us that day, so we of course did.
How could you say no to these costume arrangements and scenery?
I hid pieces of the nativity around our room and the kids searched for each of them, and we talked about each one.
We opened a time capsule of sorts from 2013 where we each wrote one "gift to Jesus" on a paper and stuck it in a wood container. I pulled them out and as I read mine Macey scrunched her nose and basically said I didn't really make the cut on mine. I can count on her to say what's on her mind. Mine was discipline with love and not a loud voice. I swear I've done so much better and she's just super sensitive, but I'm an emotional reactor. I think if I get just a little better each year then in another 20 years I'll be an expert. 2017 is going to be my year! I love their little writing and it was fun to see how it's changed from three years ago.
They got special Christmas pajamas from each of their grandmas too.
I'm always grateful not to haul stuff everywhere to be with family. It's just all those other times before and after when we would love to be with them:)
Cody got a little indoor basketball hoop. He loves it.
And we can no longer open our door to the garage fully, but I think it's worth it?
Speaking of home space. I feel so cramped and I've had a bad attitude about it this month. If more than two people are in the kitchen at a time my blood pressure starts to rise, and I'm not one to get claustrophobic. I have to get creative if I want to bake and make dinner, or just do more than one thing at a time.
Someone gave a sweet talk one Sunday about the Humility of the Savior and pointed out that our King was born in a stable. It was a good moment to remind myself that this beautiful comfortable home is certainly better than a stable, and I don't need to complain about it.
This quote about expectations was helpful, too:
Never mind what others have, what others think and what I want. I'm working on remembering that being grateful for what I have makes what I have enough.
I do love these tiny granite counter tops. They're a-mazing.
Someday we're going to figure out where we want to be and be homeowners. But not today. So today, we have enough.
Geez. That should be a different post. What a weird tangent for a Christmas post.
Too bad I'm too lazy to move it. Sorry kids.
Here are some snippets from Christmas Day:
I know. The trade off to a tiny home is great winter weather. I do love that for sure.
Merry California Christmas!!
No comments:
Post a Comment