Homey Christmas

We hope you had a Merry Christmas with your family and friends. We enjoyed a bountiful brunch with friends, including our missionaries (all six burly boys with appetites to match). Hallie prepared a spread that included egg soufflé, a ham, salad, sweet rolls, funeral potatoes, and a homemade peppermint cheesecake. The day was crisp and sunny, with the remnants of this week's snow all around. Santa must have had a wild ride on Christmas Eve, because the wind blew and blew all night! Fortunately that meant we had dry sidewalks (the one peeve Mike has about winter is slippery, icy, sludgy, and otherwise hard-to-navigate sidewalks and roads). We chatted with family members in the afternoon and evening, and Landon showed off a few of his new tricks. He received a train he can ride on, and he decided it works much better as a diving platform. Fortunately, we have foam rubber floor tiles in the back room (TV room? den? play room?). The kid narrowly avoided face plants all day. As we reflect on the birth of our Savior, we feel grateful to realize something that at first will sound a little weird: this year's Christmas felt like an ordinary day in a lot of respects. Perhaps this is why: since living in the branch and having some of the experiences we have had, we see a lot of the Christmas spirit year-round. This is not to say that every day has felt like Christmas (far from it). Mike grew up with the idea that you shouldn't act one way on Sunday and another way the other six days, and that idea has found extension with the Christmas season. Christmas felt ordinary (and this is a good thing) because it was a lot like a lot of days we’ve had this year with family and friends. We had a nice gift exchange, we reflected and laughed together, we shared in Landon’s enthusiasm, we enjoyed having people over, and we caught up with our family. What could be better? We are grateful to you (yes, you) who read our blog and share our journey with us. We see the example of the Savior’s life in yours as we all try to learn how to become like Him together. Thank you, and Merry Christmas!