Christmas Day

John, who we adopted about 18 years ago into our family drove in from L.A. to spend the holiday with us. Getting in Christmas Eve night, he tries to remind Collin of who he is.

Flowers from our adopted grandpa, John. Thanks John, they really added to
bringing the smell and beauty of Christmas into the home!



This year was an extra special Christmas because we had Collin with us and because we got to go to church, reminding us of the true meaning of the holiday.

We started our morning with a big breakfast. Grandma, grandpa, John (adopted grandpa),
Uncle Steve, Aunt Jessica, cousins Cory, Noah and Talys, Aunt Misty and the
missionaries all joined us for a hot meal before church.

Grandpa is playing with Collin (which is rare).

Gift opening was a room full of colorful festive paper with eight adults and
four children unwrapping their Christmas surprises.

My grandma used to delight in the number of Christmas cards she received each year. It would somehow verify how loved she was by her family. I remember each Christmas how she would count all her cards and make sure you knew how many she had, and they usually exceeded 200. Well, I don't have nearly that. Just reaching 40 this year. I'm thankful for all the friends and family who thought to send us one, we really enjoyed reading them and seeing the pictures. I am also thankful that I don't use them to gauge who loves us. For all those who didn't get a card out, we still love you!

A few of the many ornaments we added to our tree this year.

This one we picked up from a Denver Christmas store. It reminded
me of a lesson I had taught in Young Womens.

This is a hand drawn wood jingle bell picked up at the gift shop in the Silver Falls
National Park where we did some hiking earlier this year.

Every year I add an ornament that is either home made or it depicts something we
lived through that year. This is our 2011 ornament, Collin's footprint.

Some of our decorations that I especially enjoyed this year.

Our favorite family gift. Thank you John!

Most creative gift for Collin. His mission fund is started. Thank you aunt Cheryl!

We had such a great Christmas, thank you everyone for all the wonderful gifts!

Collin's First Christmas

Following tradition, we had Christmas Eve dinner with The Christensen Family, followed by a devotional where every family contributed, a visit to a street of beautiful Christmas
lights and then back to the house for Apple Cider, Sweets and a white
elephant gift exchange. We love Christmas Eve.

You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!

In November we were able to go and see the classic movie White Christmas performed at Gammage Auditorium. It was a great segway into the Christmas season. Just days before Christmas we had the privilege to see the play The Christmas Story based on the Movie. Both performances were great!

Electric Light Parade

I have been wanting to go to the Phoenix APS Electric Light Parade for years and never made it. Now having Collin we found ourselves wanting to start some new family traditions and made a point of making it out to see it. Unfortunately, the rain came down and forced us to leave after we found ourselves soaked. We held out as long as we could. We decided we will make another go at it next year.

Another Check Off the Bucket List

Mark couldn't resist the chance to take this off his "bucket list". Always wanting to see the Chicago Bears in live action, we flew to Denver for a couple days. Poor Collin had sensitive skin to the bitter cold wind. it took two days to get their color back to normal.

It was a good game, went into overtime. It was worth the trip anyway. Mark
was surprised to find out that I didnt even watch the game on t.v. Ha ha.
It was more fun hearing about it from him when he got home.

We went out to see some Christmas lights. Two houses were amazing!

Thanks Alvidrez Family for a fun weekend!

The Polar Express Experience

To kick off the Christmas season we took a trip to Williams, Arizona to ride the Polar Express where Collin got to meet Santa for the first time.

Once we boarded the conductor came by and punched our tickets.

The chefs showed us pictures to the storybook while Liam Neeson read the book over the speakers. They distributed hot coacoa and fresh cookies...and Collin loved having some.

When we reached the North Pole we saw Santa's Village and Santa in
his sleigh getting ready for his big flight.

To our surprise, Santa paid us a visit on the ride back to the station
and he gave each child a jingle bell just like on the movie.

We spent the night with family in Flagstaff (thanks Shelley & Michael!) and

then headed out in the morning. Before exiting the city we were able to enjoy a

little snowfall and Collin felt snow for the first time.

Ready to Eat?

We had two Thanksgiving dinners this year, eating first at my sister's house and then running over to Mark's parent's house. Yum!

No, no Collin!