A Merry Christmas Indeed!

We have had a wonderful Christmas, and I'd like to tell you about it.

Our Christmas celebration this year started on Saturday. We started off by going to my parent's house in Shelbyville to celebrate with the LeClerc clan. We had a wonderful dinner (lunch) and then grazed all afternoon. We did our normal gift exchange. For this exchange all of the males put their names in a drawing separate from all of the women. I had my uncle Rick this year and Elizabeth had my cousin Nicole. As can be expected, Hannah and Noah played with the packaging more than the presents themselves. Here's a picture of Hannah enjoying one of Elizabeth's presents (the package contains gingerbread men pillows).


All kidding aside, Hannah and Noah did seem to enjoy their presents. In fact, Hannah really enjoyed getting pajamas. I'll have to remember to remind her about this in a few years when she's complaining about opening more clothes.


One final tradition from Christmas with the LeClercs is to get family pictures taken. You can check out the album if you want to see the rest, but here is a picture of Grandma and Grandpa with all of the grandchildren.


Click here to see the rest of the pictures from the LeClerc celebration.

We got the babies ready for bed and then drove up to Kokomo to spend the night at Elizabeth's parents. We arrived there around 8:30-ish and put the babies down for the night and enjoyed a light snack. Besides us and Elizabeth's parents, Bruce and Alyssa were there. We enjoyed chatting and reminiscing before turning in for the night.

We started off Sunday morning by going to church with Elizabeth's family. It's always fun to visit the Kokomo ward and see people there. We ended up leaving church fairly shortly after Sacrament meeting so the babies could take a nap. They were NOT cooperating. It worked out well anyway because we needed to hide Elizabeth's parents' present in the closet. We got them a luggage set (thanks to Elizabeth braving it with the Black Friday crazies and saving something like 80% or so on it). Since we thought they were expecting this gift we wrapped a much smaller box weighted with magazines and containing a note that said to look in the closet. I think I sensed some disappointment when they saw the box. Boy it was fun to surprise them!

Anyway, back to the timeline. Once we got back from church we put the babies down for a nap and waited for all of the family to gather. All of the Joray kids made it for the celebration with their families. We enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner (lunch again). After eating we opened presents. With so many young kids it turned into a free-for-all. It was fun!


For our gift exchange this year we exchanged by families for the adults and then just got small dollar-store or homemade type items for the kids. We drew the Hamlins. We got them a small resin nativity set. We actually started giving it to them back at Thanksgiving. They have been opening one piece of the set each week since then. Elizabeth also made a little book to go with it that has the scriptures that tell the story. They got the last piece of the set on "Christmas" day--Baby Jesus, of course!


We got the babies ready for bed before heading home so they could sleep in the car again. Of course, after we got them ready to go they got their second wind. They had a good time playing with the french doors between the playroom and the family room. Noah especially enjoyed smashing his face against the glass.


Here are the rest of the pictures from the Joray celebration.

On Christmas Eve we spent most of the day around the house. In the afternoon and evening we went to celebrate at the Cain's house. I'm related to them through my dad's side of the family. We used to go there every year when I was growing up. I haven't been since I've been married due to the way we used to arrange all of our visits. Since we spread it out a bit more this year, we were able to make it! We had a great dinner (actually dinner this time) and opened a few gifts before going back home. Unfortunately I didn't remember to take the camera, so I don't have any pictures to share from that night.

Okay, we're finally up to Christmas morning. Hannah and Noah must have been really excited to see what Santa brought them because they got up before 5:00! We managed to hold them off until around 6:30, but we finally got up and opened presents. Santa brought all kinds of fun stuff for everyone!


Hannah and Noah especially enjoyed their new toy kitchen. It's a neat one because it "grows" with them. Once they are a little bigger we can raise it up and there is another level with two more doors to open and close. We all know that's Noah's favorite!


It was really neat to have Christmas morning at home together as a family! It made me feel all grown up. I'm looking forward to many, many more. Here are the rest of the pictures from Christmas morning at home.

Phew, are you worn out yet? I know I sure was. But hang on, there's still two more celebrations to go!

After having a light breakfast at home we loaded up the car and headed to Ray's Crossing to visit with the Cook (my dad's family) clan. We had a yummy breakfast that included scrambled eggs, cinnamon rolls, biscuits and gravy, and the infamous chocolate gravy. I'm not a fan personally, but it a Christmas tradition after all!

As soon as breakfast was over, the presents began. The present-opening scheme at Granny's house has always been open it when you get it. It was crazy!


My granny is so hard to shop for. The woman has everything! This year Elizabeth put together and ordered a personalized calendar with pictures of the babies. You think she liked it?!


Click here to see the rest of the pictures from the Cook Christmas celebration!

After we finished up at the Cook's, we headed back to my parents' house to celebrate with my immediate family. We put the babies down for a nap as soon as we got there. While they were sleeping the adults opened all of our presents.


Just before the babies woke up my Grandma and Grandpa arrived to share the rest of Christmas day with us. After the babies woke up they opened their presents. They weren't that interested. They helped tear the paper off of a few, but they still don't quite grasp the concept. Maybe next year!


If I had to guess what Hannah and Noah's favorite gifts were from Nana and Papaw, I'd guess it was their Little People school bus and fire engine that they could ride on. Papaw enjoyed pushing them around on them.


After opening presents we had Christmas dinner. It was a little non-traditional, but I hope it becomes a new tradition because it was awesome. We had hotdogs! My dad even fired up the grill so we could have them grilled. It was perfect, because if I had seen another ham or turkey I think I would have screamed! If you don't believe me, I have proof!


Here are the rest of the pictures from the Scott Christmas gathering.

We ended off Christmas night by getting the babies ready for bed and driving back home. After we got home and got them into bed, we plopped down on the couch and let out a sigh.

We had a truly wonderful Christmas. We had the opportunity to visit with our families. We had the opportunity to share and receive wonderful gifts. We enjoyed safety in our travels.

As I reflect on the events of the last several days, I can't help but be grateful for all that God has blessed us with. It's hard to understand sometimes why we have so much when others have so little. It helps me remmber the responsibility that comes with blessings. However, I am most grateful for Heavenly Father's gift of His Only Begotten Son.

The Future of America (or should I say the US Americans?)

You've probably all seen this by now, but I had to share it anyway. It's worth a good laugh. This is from the Miss Teen USA contest.



Seeing this reminded me of seeing Kelly Pickler (of American Idol fame) competing on "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?". It was painful to watch.

Sad TV Discovery

As I've mentioned before here on the blog, we love Journeyman on NBC. When we watched the episode on this past Monday evening, they announced at the end that the next episode would be this Wednesday (tonight). Weird, we thought, and even discussed whether they could possibly be cancelling the show. I just checked the website and found out it's true...cancelled. Oh well, at least we'll finally get some answers!

I guess I owe everyone an update on trying to get the new job at work. I GOT IT! I found out last Tuesday. I am very excited for the opportunity. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous, but I know it will work out. The group is great. Hopefully they won't think it's weird that the youngest person in the group is the team leader! The bad part is I've got some huge shoes to fill. I have repeatedly heard comments that Julia is the best supervisor some have ever had. No pressure or anything. :)

One side benefit of getting this job that excites me a bit is getting a Blackberry (or Crackberry--due to its addictive qualities). The only reason it excites me is because I'm a big technology junkie. I guess what I should keep in mind is that its really a leash! Speaking of funny names for Blackberry's...I was in a meeting one time and we needed a phone number. A guy mentioned he thought he had it and would look it up. Everyone assumed he meant in his Blackberry and someone commented to this effect. When he pulled out his little paper pocketbook directory he said it was his Paperberry. Okay, so that's not as funny as I thought, but I'm not going to go to the trouble of deleting it now.

I'm watching "Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir" on PBS. Sisel (who I've never heard of) is the special guest. She is apparently Norwegian as they've been singing a lot of traditional Norwegian Christmas songs. She does have a beautiful, almost haunting, voice. They are singing "Carol of Bells" right now, one of my favorites!

Not a lot to report on Hannah and Noah. They have managed to rip all of the ornaments off the bottom portion of the Christmas tree. It reminds me of when the cats were kittens and did the same. We are excited to see how they react to Christmas. It's going to be fun. It all starts Saturday...hard to believe!

Audio Slideshow from Yuletide Celebration

I found the this audio slideshow on The Indianapolis Star's website. It gives you a little taste of the show that I have raved about.

A Busy Weekend

I thought I would start by posting a picture of Hannah giving Noah a kiss. I mentioned it in the last post, but didn't have any pictures then.


Let me start with Friday night. We went to the Symphony's Yuletide Celebration show. It was opening night! As I mentioned before, Sandi Patty is the host again this year. She is a Hoosier who calls Anderson home. She was joined on stage by the amazing African Children's Choir. They were introduced by a short video segment from Coach Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts. He pointed out some things about the choir that I didn't know before. A new choir is formed each year and those that are selected get to travel the globe for a year performing. Many of the members of the choir are orphaned due to AIDS and other problems of Africa. All of the proceeds from their shows goes toward the education and support of the choir's alumni. They become the doctors, nurses, engineers, etc. that become leaders in their communities and countries. We had really good seats for the show (thanks to Elizabeth's parents) and we were able to really see the children and the hope in their eyes. It was humbling to hear them sing with such joy coming from such suffering. I was moved by each of their performances. There was a special guest appearance by Ben Utecht, tight end for the Colts. He was dressed in a blue tux with tails and even sang a duet with Sandi Patty. He will apparently appear randomly in shows throughout the season. The regular favorites were still in the show: the tap-dancing Santa's and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. The crowning moment of the night was the performance of O Holy Night by Sandi Patty, the African Children's Choir, and the Company. They introduced it by telling the scriptural account of the Savior's birth and then singing the song. My eyes were wet throughout the performance and I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it now. My recommendation: SEE THIS SHOW. It is well worth the money. You will have a smile on your face the entire time. And I guarantee you will leave in the Christmas spirit.

Saturday we had the opportunity to travel to Berne to visit with Elizabeth's grandmother. She didn't know we were coming, so it was a fun Christmas surprise. We tried to go look at "our table" again, but sad news...the store closed. They apparently had a huge sale (of course) at the end of October. They are still in business in some other far-flung Indiana city. :( Here's some pictures from the visit with Grandma.




If you'd like to see the rest of the pictures from our visit, click here.

This evening we were able to go to our friend's home for an Advent celebration. It's not really a traditional celebration in our religion, but it is a family tradition for our friends, and it was pretty fun. We just sang some Christmas songs and read some scriptures together. Just another great opportunity to get in the Christmas spirit.