Friends 'till the end!

Have you ever been blessed to have a true and honest friend? Isn't it nice to know that as we work our way through this thing called life that there are actually people out there who will be by your side through the good and bad, thick and thin, sweet and sorrowful, and clear 'till the end? I have been blessed with so many wonderful people in my life; most of them like sisters to me. And, as this new year has its way of "ringing in," I have felt heavens blessings of dear friends showering upon me and I am so grateful for sweet friends!!!! ( I wish I had a picture of and room for all of them, but here are just a few to get my point across... I think you know what I mean!)

Have you ever had a friend that loves Christmas as much as you do that she would come over to your house at 1:00 in the morning because she knows that you are excitedly putting up the decorations while all of the little ones are fast asleep? And then she still gets up in the wee hours of the morning to go for a run with you just to share more moments of laughter, inspiration, and rejuvenation together?

Have you ever had a friend that you could confide anything in? Someone that loves you both in your sparkles and your sweats? Or have you ever had a friend to go through some of life's bumpiest spots with and still end up squeezing each other tight no matter where the road of life leads?

Have you ever had a friend that would care for your children as if they were her own and do it countless times both simply for the fun of it and with only a moments notice just to get you out of a pickle? Or have you ever had a friend that you could enjoy her smile both at 5:30 am at aerobics class and at 10:00 pm after a presidency meeting?

Or, have you ever had a friend that regardless of whether you are catching up at soccer practice, or being proud together over your second graders "being friendly to everyone" awards at school, you can sit back and laugh together and love each other even if it IS a bad hair day!

Have you ever had a friend that's been there for you literally since the moment you were born? One that has experienced birth and death, love and tears, gut-aching laughter and long distance road trips, the smell of GLADE brand air freshener one too many times, and eating soooo much ice-cream that you felt like you would be sick for the next two days?

Or, have you ever had a group of friends that could pull together just two weeks before an adoption and clean, paint, wallpaper, and decorate for the arrival of your friends long awaited baby girl? And when you are with them, you can live, laugh, love, learn, and blossom into what a beautiful woman really should be?

Have you ever had a friend that just simply "gets you?" One that listens with her heart and understands the demands of life and tries to lighten the load, whether its in the form of laughter, a phone call, or even if it is in the form of a baby shower that you insisted you didn't need - for a sweet baby girl that without it would have been dressed solely in baseball and Lakers attire?

Or, have you ever had a friend that you wanted to be permanently attached too, like Siamese twins or something? Someone whom you love so much that you are literally becoming like them right down to knowing what their next word will be or knowing what 1 item out of the 50 off of the menu will be the one that they are in the mood for that day? Someone who thinks you are beautiful in just a T-shirt and even after it has baby throw up on it?

There is something wonderful about friendships and relationships that help us make it through this life. We need each other and we need to love each other. What a blessing it is to have a true friend to share all of life's experiences with. All in the past month or so, I have had friends to celebrate with, to struggle with, to comfort in times of loss, and to rejoice in the news of gladness. Friends have visited, made a phone call, sent a note, offered an invitation, and even extended new hands of friendship - both from close to home, and far away. We have shared trials and triumphs, anticipation and gratitude, and embraced with arms of compassion. To all of you who have been a friend to me... may heavens blessings truly pour out upon you in abundance a feeling of peace and comfort that comes from knowing that you are loved! You are one of those things that keeps on tugging at my Heartstrings!

At the Christmas Concert, there was another gift...

A couple of weeks before Christmas, I wrote about an experience called "a Christmas Concert and a Gift." Well, there were so many neat things that I had experienced that day, that I did not have enough room in that post to write them all down. But, one particular experience keeps coming back to my mind and I feel that I should write it down. It is one of those experiences that I feel was a great lesson that I learned about listening to the spirit and hopefully in writing it down, I might never forget one of those great lessons that Heavenly Father would have me learn.

I can still remember so many of the small details. I was with my friend Susan and we were at the mall enjoying a beautiful Christmas concert together and really enjoying getting a good dose of the "Christmas spirit." As I was taking everything in, I remember looking all around me and seeing so many different people with smiles on their faces and everyone seemed to be genuinely happy. There were friends meeting friends, elderly couples holding onto each other, mothers with strollers, and even a group of handicapped adults. It was amazing the sense of unity that the music in the air was bringing. It was clearly evident that all those who were there had a feeling, even if just for a moment, that this was a wonderful gift at Christmas.

After Paul Cardall's beautiful piano music was over, there was another performer, Nathan Osmond, who bounded onto the stage with all of the energy and excitement of a little kid at Christmas! As I sat and balanced Gavin and Kambriella, their soda and pretzel bites, and listened to the happy sounds that were filling the air, I couldn't help but notice a voice from behind me that was singing along with some of the songs that were being performed. This voice was singing beautifully on key and as I turned to see who it was, I saw that it was a handicapped man standing and smiling with a crowd of others. At this point, the man singing on the stage invited another man from over in the corner to come and join him on the stage. This young man immediately spread more of the "Christmas spirit" with the huge smile that was on his face as he clapped his hands and danced around on the stage. His enthusiasm was contagious! I remember feeling so happy and the huge smile that also showed up on all of our faces. Then, I remember looking around the crowd at all of the people and just observing what was happening. That - was when I noticed him. A young man that looked to be in his 20's or so. He was confined to a wheelchair but had full use of his upper body. He started out on the opposite side of the stage from me, and as I watched him over the next few minutes, he began maneuvering his way in and out of the crowd. He wheeled himself from one aisle to the next trying to find just the right spot to sit and watch the concert, and apparently not wanting to give up until he had found the perfect place. He would work his way up the aisle being sure not to bump into anyone, and then he would work his way back. He then moved over a few rows and would do the same thing - work his way up the aisle and then back again. After following this same pattern every few minutes, he had finally ended up just a few rows over from me, strategically seated between a huge pillar and a garbage can. From where he had finally seated himself, I had the perfect view to witness what I felt was a little piece of heaven. He was literally glowing because he looked so happy. He was smiling and nodding his head to the beat. It was so much fun to see someone get so much satisfaction out of something so simple as music. But that is what music does to me, too. Good music fills my soul with joy and gladness that it usually becomes uncontainable! Well, what happened next was not what I had expected, but as it did, I felt that I was being given another gift from Heavenly Father because He was letting me be a part of all of this. I watched this young man wheel himself back over to the other side of the stage to where they had a table set up for people to buy any of the CD's of the artists who were performing. As I watched this man, the music was still filling the air and I could hardly believe what I was seeing. He proceeded to pull out a large bag and empty its contents out onto the table. From all of the lights reflecting I could easily see that it was a huge pile of coins. Pennies, nickles, dimes, quarters - no bills to be seen, only coins. For a few minutes I watched him sliding the coins from one side of the table to the other, obviously separating them and counting them at the same time. I thought to myself, "He loves this music so much that he must want to buy one of their CD's." But what I saw next made me feel sad. I saw him look at the lady behind the table and shake his head as if to say, "I just don't have enough money." At this point I found myself doing something so spontaneous that I almost didn't have time to think about it. I picked up Kambriella, grabbed my wallet from the diaper bag, and told Susan that I would be right back. I walked as quickly as I could through the crowd and walked behind the stage to where the table was set up only to find that the man in the wheelchair was gone. "Where could he be? He couldn't have gotten that far, could he?" I walked straight up to the lady behind the table and asked her if the man that was in the wheelchair was trying to buy a CD. She said that he was going to, but that he had changed his mind and decided that he didn't want one anymore. I turned around and started walking back through the crowd scanning the group with my eyes for the man in the wheelchair. "He couldn't already be gone," I thought to myself. So my steps quickened. I turned the corner almost back to where Susan and Gavin were seated when I finally saw him headed away from the concert and down the mall. I began running so that I could catch up to him quickly and very soon did. I stopped him and said, "Excuse me sir, I couldn't help but notice how much you were enjoying the concert, and I was too! Wasn't that music beautiful?" He smiled back at me and said, "Oh ya, I just love Nathan's music! My brother and I went to high school with him and he is just amazing!" At that point I said a quick prayer in my mind because I wasn't sure what to say and the last thing I wanted to do was to offend this neat man. I had wondered to myself too how this man may have come to the circumstances that he was in? Was he born with a physical handicap or had he had some terrible accident in his life that had put him in this wheelchair? He seemed to be completely intelligent and mentally able and seemed to be a neat person simply limited in his physical abilities. After my quick thoughts and prayer I said to him, " Were you going to buy one of Nathan's CD's?" He smiled a sort of sheepish half smile as if he were a little embarrassed and said, "Oh ya, I was going to, but I just didn't have quite enough money." Right then and there I knelt down beside him and said, "Could I please buy you that CD that you wanted? It would be my Christmas gift to you and it would mean so much to me. Would that be OK?" He paused and rolled back in his wheelchair and then he popped a wheelie! "Really!? That would be AWESOME!" He replied back to me. "Well which way do you wanna go?" He said pointing behind the stage or around the crowd. "Well, it looks like less traffic if we go behind the stage," I said. And at that point I had to keep up my jog to keep up with him as he popped his wheelies all the way back to the table. If he would have been walking I imagined the hop in his step that was being so easily imitated by his wheelies in his wheelchair. With the music still playing all around us, I had truly captured that spirit of Christmas and it was filling my whole soul. When we got to the table I asked him if he wanted an extra CD for his brother and he said that the one would be just fine. After asking the lady behind the table how much the CD's were, I gave the man in the wheelchair my meager $20 bill and told him he could keep the change. I knelt down beside him one more time and over the noise of the concert told him "Merry Christmas." He responded with a literal twinkle in his eye, "Merry Christmas!"

I went back to my original seat with Gavin and Susan and smiled as we all continued to take in this most tangible Christmas spirit. It was an amazing day from start to finish, and one that I thank Heavenly Father for letting me experience. I don't even think that words can adequately express the feeling that was there, and I think that is why I hesitated in writing it down. But, now I know that there was a great lesson to be learned and by writing it down, it will not only benefit me, but also the lives of those whom I love. Susan even made a comment to me after seeing what had happened that she was grateful that I had been sitting where I was so that I was able to see that man because she hadn't. It taught me many things of course, but most of all, it taught me to be sure that I am always trying to have eyes to see what is going on around me. Life is busy, and so was the mall. But when the spirit directs me in the craziness of life, am I willing to stop what I am doing and help someone around me, even if they aren't tapping me on the shoulder and asking for it specifically? Do I notice the needs of my brothers and sisters and then willingly go and be the Lord's hands? Unfortunately I'm sure that I have missed out on many wonderful opportunities, but after having an experience like this, it makes me want to be ever ready to go and do. I also learned that we need to listen to the spirit carefully and not assume that someone else will go and do the work because the view from someone else's seat, even if it is only one foot away, can be totally different than ours. I will close my thoughts with one of my favorite quotes from President Thomas S. Monson, the same quote that introduces my blog. It says, "As we seek Christ, as we find Him, as we follow Him, we shall have the Christmas spirit, not for one fleeting day each year, but as a companion always." So, as we begin this New Year, let us have Christ's spirit with us every day with grateful hearts, and then lets roll up our sleeves and "go and do!"

Time to Put it All Away...

The spirit of Christmas has definitely found its way into our hearts and home this year, and after another year full of memories and traditions, it is time to put away all of the lights, decorations, and keepsakes of Christmas. But - one thing is for certain as we do so; the true Light of Christ will shine on even brighter as we keep Christ with us in our hearts and home every day. - For it is our Prince of Peace that is truly the Keepsake of all time... may you have a "Peace full" New Year!

The Gift of Time

When Christmas rolls around in the Trickett home, there are many things to put on our list of "favorite things" to relish and savor. We love the constant melody of Christmas music, mugs of hot chocolate in the mornings, and inspiring stories each night. We also love watching the snow fall and magically transforming the trees into pieces of a winter wonderland. The kids all love to see the Christmas tree and become so excited when presents start appearing underneath it. As the days grow closer to Christmas, they will go and count the presents just to see if there might possibly be one more than the night before. :) It's true, Christmas really is for kids - and thank goodness there's a kid in all of us! Well, with all of the things that I love about Christmas, there is one thing that I have recently grown to love and anticipate. It's when my kids begin to ask, "Mom, do you think that Santa will bring us the "Gift of Time" this year?" I always reply with excitement and a smile, "Oh I sure hope so! It's my favorite gift of all!" - You see, Santa Claus began a tradition in our home about 5 years ago, and it has already earned it's place as one of the most valuable gifts our family receives. As a family, we are given not just presents, but a gift of spending time together doing fun things planned out and instructed by Santa himself. It all started when we moved to Eagle Mountain. Clint and I went out to our new home for the final inspection right before Christmas, and Santa had left a gift and a note for us to take home to our family. By the time we had gathered the children, read the note, and contained all of the giddiness, we found ourselves on a scavenger hunt through Salt Lake that led us from a restaurant -to a hotel -to Temple Square -with all kinds of gifts and clues and elves and secret helpers found everywhere and all along the way! There are too many details to write about right now, but I will say that after that year we have had breakfast bags made from scratch by Mrs. Claus herself, tickets to ride on the Tube'n'Train, and Christmas lights galore! - Zoo lights, Temple lights, and Thanksgiving Point lights. (Not to mention plenty of light shining in the little ones' eyes!) - Sleigh rides, surprise deliveries, and piecing together the nativity. Last year there was even a special treasure chest from Santa that was secretly stocked each night for 5 nights with a Christmas story book and items to go with the story so that it could be relived after reading it the next day! -Ice -skating, gingerbread house making, and jars of money secretly given. - Riding in a canoe with Santa, dates with grandparents, and making homemade ornaments together. - In 5 years time, Santa's "Gift of Time" has won the hearts of the Trickett kids both young and old! (Not that Clint and I are old by any means:) But this year, Santa delivered the Gift of Time on December 22nd. It was about 7 o'clock in the evening when he dropped off a gift bag at our front door. It was so much fun to see the little ones get so excited about their surprise gift from Santa! Dallin and Gavin ran in circles from the kitchen to the living room to the dining room over and over again because they just couldn't contain their emotions. Dallin was so sweet as he was making his laps he stopped and hugged me and said, "Mom, it feels so good!" Then I asked him, "What Dallin? What feels so good?" Then with the biggest grin you ever saw he said, "INSIDE OF ME!!!" That moment alone made me grateful that Santa had taken the time to give us this gift this year! Anyway, in the bag from Santa were 3 empty gift bags with instructions for the children to be "like the wise men of old" and go deliver 3 gifts to other families in secret. The first gift had to be a "joyful gift," so we filled it with treats, books, stuffed animals, etc. and delivered it to a family with 3 little girls. Dallin almost lost his boots in the snow running back to the car! The second gift had to be a "needful gift," so we filled the bag with different food items - hot chocolate, cake mixes and frosting, etc. - you know, all of the necessities!;) The third gift had to be a "meaningful gift," so we filled the bag with reminders of Jesus Christ - a nativity, a book, and a DVD (with some treats of course!) Santa told us that if we could successfully deliver our 3 gifts without getting caught, that we would awake in the morning to find 3 gifts from him! So, you can imagine the children's excitement when they awoke in the morning and found another gift bag at our door. In it there was a "joyful gift" of gift cards for each of them to "Build-A-Bear" and a little heart shaped bell to stuff inside their bear to remind them of the joy that they gave to the other families the night before. Then there was a gift card for dinner with their family for the "needful gift," (I guess since we all NEED to eat, right?;) Then their last gift was a reservation to stay in Santa's suite at the Embassy Suites in downtown Salt Lake for some "meaningful time" spent with their family. Carrying out all of Santa's instructions was so much fun, except for the part where we made a detour in the beginning of our celebration. Just as we were all getting in the car to head down to the Gateway, Kierra slipped and broke her wrist! So, instead of heading out, we went to the emergency room. I couldn't really tell if Kierra's tears were tears of pain or sadness that we might not get to have our "Gift of Time!" So, lucky for us, her brake wasn't too bad of a break (if there is such a thing,) and the doctor told us that we could still go and have our fun. I told Kierra we could always go and do our things another night, but she insisted that we had to have our gift of time. So, with a great perspective on what truly matters most, we all set out to enjoy our night. We had fun picking out animals and outfits at "Build-A-Bear" and seeing the amazing fountains and lights at the Gateway. We enjoyed our dinner at the Rumbi Island Grill and took in a little bit of our last minute shopping. When we got to the hotel, we sat and watched Christmas movies and of course a little bit of the basketball game, ate snacks and finally turned out the lights around midnight. In the morning it was Christmas Eve and Kierra's appetite had returned, so her and I snuck out to breakfast by ourselves while everyone else was asleep. When we had returned, everyone was still sleeping so we woke them all and had them go eat. As soon as they returned we all got in our suits and went swimming. (Most of the swimming was done in the hot tub which Kierra enjoyed since she couldn't get in all the way.) When we got home there was yet another note from Santa that wished us a Merry Christmas and encouraged us to enjoy our night at home together as a family. And so we did. We wrapped more presents, read more stories, and ended our night early with the true story of Christmas. It was a wonderful time, broken arm and all. Thank you Santa for your "Gift of Time." When we have each other, we have all we need!

A Christmas concert and a "Gift"

As I thought about the gifts that I would be giving for Christmas this year, I decided to fore go the traditional gifts and just give the gift of "time"spent with a dear friend. No store bought packages wrapped in pretty paper or tied up with fancy bows. Just some good quality one on one time to enjoy the company of a good friend. After all, isn't that what Christmas is all about? Well, little did I know, that an agreement between 2 friends to spend an afternoon together, would end up being one of my most precious gifts of all time. Let me share with you just exactly why.

We decided to meet for lunch at the mall - but this was not to be just any lunch. You see, for a couple of weeks before Christmas every year, the radio station hosts a "Christmas concert" everyday during lunch. Each day they post a list of who the guest performers will be. I was so excited when I saw that the day that we had set aside for our "gift" to each other would have as their guest performer, Paul Cardall. Now, if you have never heard of Paul, his music is beautiful and inspiring to say the least. In fact, it is his music that first plays when you log on to my blog. I just love his version of Silent Night. Anyway, the morning of the concert had arrived and believe me, I had high expectations of all of the many things that I was going to accomplish that morning before I made my way to the mall. -Getting kids off to school, picking up the house, shopping and picking up Christmas cards were all on my list of things "to do." Well, like many mornings with little ones, things do not always seem to go quite as you plan. I always try to be flexible, but this particular day I was feeling pretty overwhelmed. As hard as I was trying, I simply felt like I was only moving backwards all morning and everything that I tried to get "done," very quickly became "undone" by my sweet little Kambriella. The Christmas letter that I had typed up to mail to our family and friends became "history" pretty quickly when she erased it off of the computer screen. The oatmeal that she was having for breakfast made much better floor wax and finger paint than actual food, and the chocolate advent calendars that grandma gave the kids became fun packages to rip open along with all of the presents under the tree. Needless to say, I didn't accomplish much before we left for the concert, and all I could do when I finally got in the car was to strap all of us in and take a deep breath. It was a much needed and enjoyed quiet 10 minute ride to the mall. When we got there, Gavin, Kambriella, and I were all excited and ready for a little "Christmas cheer." As I sat with my friend and waited for the concert to begin, we giggled at the amount of "productivity" that went on earlier that morning. Then, Paul came out onto the stage and they introduced him and welcomed him back to their "Christmas tradition" which he had been a part of for 10 years now, all except for last year that is. You see, Paul was born a "heart baby" just like Kambriella. What I didn't know was how close he had come to death so many times, and that last year he had finally received a heart transplant. So, with the stillness and beauty of his piano playing, he proceeded to thank his Heavenly Father for a second chance at life and for the opportunity to be with his family at Christmas time. He expressed such a simple yet heartfelt message of being grateful for the little things and the little ones in our lives. He spent many hours at Primary Children's Hospital and saw far too many stories with unhappy endings. Because of the closeness of these things to his "heart," he played a song that he wrote and dedicated to all of the "heart babies" like him. The song he played is titled "Gracie's song." As he spoke these simple words and played the sweet song, my heart swelled with emotion to the point of overflowing. Tears came to my eyes and began streaming down my cheeks. I could not stop them from flowing any more than I could stop my heart from pounding and the lump in my throat from growing. I sat and sobbed uncontrollably through the whole song. Sweet little Gavin noticed my emotion and put his hand on my back and his cheek on my shoulder. All the while I was feeling this way, I was admiring my sweet little baby Kambriella and thanking Heavenly Father that she was alive and well, and there to be a part of our family and to share in this Christmas with us. I thanked Him for all of the smeared oatmeal and the tiny shreds of wrapping paper that littered the kitchen floor. I thanked Him for damaged advent calendars and deleted Christmas letters all skillfully constructed by two little hands with a strong will and a "strong heart." This Christmas concert became a gift to me from Heavenly Father who so tenderly reminded me of the important things in life and that it's really not the "things" that matter at all. There were many other special moments of tender mercies and revelation that came to my mind during that concert. I felt for a moment that time was literally standing still as I sat in a mall, of all places, and was learning one of life's greatest lessons. Along with testimony shared through word and song, a man in a wheelchair that needed a little "help" at Christmas, some physically handicapped adults that sang their hearts out - dancing and clapping along at times, the tender sweet smile of a dear friend, and the company of two of my very own precious little angels, Paul ended his concert with none other than my very favorite version of "Silent Night." Yet another tender mercy to let me know that I am loved and known deeply and personally by my Heavenly Father. How could it be that the thought of giving a gift to a friend of spending some quality time together, could turn out to be one of the most precious gifts of a lifetime? Well, that's what happens at Christmas. It happened on the first Christmas and it's happening now. The miracle of the Christ child's birth has blessed the lives of people for ages, and it is blessing my life today. I love my Savior and I am so thankful for the "gifts" that He so freely gives both at Christmas time and every day throughout the year. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Card 2010

“Timeless Memories of 2010”

T raveling as a family to Ramona California this year! Lego Land,
Disneyland, Sea World, and the beach! Fun times for all!
I nstruments of all shapes and sizes filling our home with music and –
noise? :) The clarinet, piano, flute, piccolo, and bassoon!
M a and Pa Trickett and their “12 children” pulling handcarts across the
Wyoming wilderness for a memorable “pioneer Trek experience.”
E venings of “date nights with dad” riding on TRAX and going to the
JAZZ games! GO JAZZ! BEAT L.A.! :)
L asik eye surgery for Susette! Oh how beautiful the world really is!
There are leaves on trees, mountains with detail, and no more migraines!
E ntering Jr. High! Kierra turned 12, loves Young Womens, and we can’t
believe we’re old enough for all of this!
S erving in Young Mens and Primary in our ward and absolutely loving
every minute of it! (And Kambriella is officially in nursery! YEAH!)
S occer, soccer, soccer! Dallin and Gavin have officially found their
competitive sides! (I can’t imagine where they got them from! :)

M any, many mornings taking Kambriella for walks in the wagon! Oh
how she loves to be outside!
E scaping the world for our 16th wedding anniversary celebration! The
Florida temple was beautiful and Disneyworld was amazing!
M any reasons to laugh and NOT cry - such as, a flooded basement,
broken air conditioner, dishwasher, water pipes, and water heater!
O utdoors with grandma and grandpa! Camping, boating, and hiking –
Carew especially loved tubing down the river!
R emodeling and adding on to Premier Vehicle Installation. Business is
growing and we’re thankful to be surviving the economy.
I ncreasing the ability to multi-task! For example, refereeing sumo
wrestling while singing and having family home evening!
E ntertaining children full of laughter, smiles, independence, and
forgiveness. Learning to love and give.
S incere gratitude for our Savior, His birth, His life, and His love. Merry
Christmas to all our family and friends we treasure throughout the year!

All our love, The Trickett Family
Clint, Susette, Kierra, Carew, Dallin , Gavin, and Kambriella

We are Santa's Elves!

On November 18th I had a sad attempt at ringing in the Christmas season with the WORST Christmas concert I have ever attended. But today, I am very happy to say that the Trickett family has officially "rung in the holidays" with the Trickett family Christmas party! I asked my kids each one individually what their favorite part of the day was, and I got the same answer from all of them: "the whole thing!" We had such a great time and it would have never been as much fun if we didn't have some of the funnest (and most competitive) family members around! Our party was centered around an "E.L.F." theme (everyone loves fun!) We had snacks and treats of every color and size! Thanks for all the yummy cookies, cream cheese balls, cheesecake bites, soups, chili and everything else that pleased everyones taste buds and sweet teeth! I especially loved playing the fun games with everyone, and yes, Clint was right. If his mom's team wanted to win, all she had to do was to pick Clint first to be on her team. And she did. And they won. ;) The men made some fierce "Mr. Grinch" faces! And those kids really know how to use their sense of feel, don't they! The pudding up the noses of Kierra and Cody made me glad it was them and not me, and the "stealing of the elf socks" would make a great addition to a wal-mart black Friday shopping game, don't you think!? :) You all make great balancers, builders, and keebler elf cookie monsters! After the games were all over, we had a yummy dinner of soups and bread bowls. It was delicious and I loved watching the little ones try to tackle their bread bowl that for most of them was bigger than their head! From there, we headed off to the Olympic oval for some ice-skating along with all of the other families in the Salt Lake Valley! Yes, it was packed, but that did not keep me from having fun watching everyone try to be brave in their skates, and from laughing so hard while skating with Gavin who would start cracking up every time he would start to fall and then I would hold him up dangling by one arm till he regained his footing! We had a wonderful time. What a magical night! When we finally returned home, we enjoyed doughnuts, cookies, and sweets galore. The children's eyes lit up as Santa knocked on our door and presented each one of them with a new pair of Christmas pajamas! After everyone changed into their jammies, we took pictures and exchanged gifts while a couple of men caught a short nap! (What kind of Head Elf sleeps on the job? Especially when we are this close to Christmas?;) To end the evenings festivities we dimmed all the lights (and added the glow of a crackling fire, thanks to Todd:) and listened to a Christmas nativity story from an animals point of view. It was cute to watch the little ones crawl like a dog, cat, ox, mouse, or donkey and lay down next to each other as if they were soooo tired! They welcomed the Savior of the world to their stable that night, where there was always room for a little one. And so my dear sweet family that I love, let us tuck these treasured, timeless, Christmas memories deep in our hearts and be grateful for them and all that we have as we make room for the Little One! I love you all! Merry Christmas!