December 2015

December was a great month around here. We are starting the stage where our kids have holiday events and activities and it makes for a good dose of Christmas spirit.

We started out the month going to see Lauren's school chorus sing at the mall. They had their official concert the following week and we loved seeing her sing up on stage. Ellie got to go on a field trip to see the Snow Queen and enjoyed that play and time with her friends from school.

We watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional with Jacob's parents and loved the spirit we felt from the songs and messages shared.

 

The following week Jake and I took Lauren and Ellie to the Phoenix Symphony production of Handel's Messiah. Jake and I have gone almost every year, but it was the girls first time attending. They did really well and absorbed the spirit of that wonderful music. 

 

The next night Jake and I were invited to attend the Cardinals game with his boss Howard and his wife Vicki. It was a great night and an amazing game with a last minute win and we loved spending the evening with them.  

 

The girls also played in a piano recital and had two Christmas songs to play in front of a packed audience of doting parents and grandparents.  We love their piano teacher and are so grateful for the way she's helped them progress on the piano. I had a lovely book club meeting where my sweet friends shared wonderful Christmas gifts with each other.

Our ward Christmas party was later that week and we loved the luau theme and the delicious meal. The kids got to sing in the program and sit on Santa's lap. Tommy did much better than we were anticipating and it was fun to see him overcome his Santa fear. 

 

Lauren had a strings concert last week and it was fun to see her playing the violin. Ada had a kindergarten concert and was so darling singing up on the stage with all of her little friends.  Even Thomas took his turn up on the stage.

Last weekend Jake took a day trip to Las Vegas to watch BYU's bowl game with members of his family and mine. It was a sad ending, but a fun day for him. That night I took the girls to our traditional viewing of the Nutcracker ballet. It was fun to have a girls night out with them and see them enjoy that fun production.

Last Sunday we hosted our traditional cookie party with friends from church. As usual, I forgot to take a picture, but it was a fun night with a good spread of treats.

 

This week was fun and started out with the kids getting to have a morning play date with Ada's kindergarten teacher while Jake and I attended Star Wars with some generous friends. We went out to dinner the next night with good friends and loved driving around Moon Valley and looking at some amazing lights with them. 

Phoenix really does lights well and all month we've spent many nights driving around and appreciating beautiful Christmas lights together. We've seen yards filled with blow up figures, houses completely covered in lights, a string of 11 homes flashing their lights along with music on a radio station, and a live animal nativity complete with real animals, hot cider and a fire pit. Looking at lights is one of our favorite family traditions.

We are grateful for the people in our lives who made this month extra special. We rejoice in the birth of the Savior and are grateful to know that Jesus is the reason for the season.