As always, Christmas 2014 was a great one! It seems like each Christmas is just a little sweeter than the last. Elin and Payton were both at really fun ages to enjoy all the festivities. We started trying to implement a family tradition where each day of the month of December, the girls got to open a mini stocking. Each stocking contained a Bible verse pertaining to Christmas, a fun activity to do that day, and a little piece of candy. Payton LOVED this! Some of our favorite activities included making Christmas ornaments, making a gingerbread house, baking Christmas cookies, setting up our nativity, buying Christmas presents for children in need, driving through the Fantasy of lights, making rice krispy Christmas trees, taking a ride on the Polar Express, and Christmas shopping for members of our family. Hopefully, this will be a tradition that we are able to continue for a long time. In addition to all of these activities, Payton had a Christmas celebration at her preschool and got to participate in her first Christmas program at church. So fun!
Ryan was able to take close to 2 weeks off during the holidays. I always love this extended family time we get as we celebrate our Savior's birth. The Tuesday before Christmas, we had our family Christmas at home. It was a little bittersweet, because this will be our last Christmas in our first home. We tried to make it extra special! Tuesday evening, we made our way to Fairfield to celebrate the week of Christmas with family. It is a time definitely cherished, as we are able to spend time with cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandmas, some of whom we don't get to see too often. It's always somewhat sad as the holidays come to an end, but we are so thankful for a blessed holiday season and can't wait to see what God has in store for us in 2015!
