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Decorating the giant tree:

And Jesse turning 11 (a better view of the circuit-board cake Daisy made him was visible in the last post):

And a visit to Christmas Village! It's a magical place to be sure. But also … soooo crowded that it isn't an effort I make every year. 

A ward Christmas party and my mom reading Christmas books to the kids. This is the third year we've had her come over for a December Family Night to read my old childhood Christmas books to the kids, and I love it. 

Meanwhile … Abe was living out his first birthday/Christmas/holiday season away from home. He got a new companion just days before Christmas so things were all a bit unfamiliar, but the package we sent (along with the one from my sister) made it to him in time! Also … they got bed frames (rather than just mattresses on the floor). They had to put them together with kicks in place of a hammer, but it seemed to be great cause for celebration. :) Our favorite thing (that also gave us a good chuckle) that he said on the phone to us on Christmas Eve was that he really enjoyed the mission … even though they actually do nothing even remotely enjoyable. Haha. Daisy was able to work that little comment nicely into her talk a week later on being able to feel joy in any circumstances when the Savior is our focus. 

And a little Nativity at the Allred Christmas party.

I was almost tempted to have us skip our own little nativity and reading of Luke 2 on Christmas Eve. (Mostly because I didn't want to pull out scarves and robes and the like), but I'm glad I didn't put the kabosh on it as it was my favorite part of Christmas Eve. Mike turned off all the lights but a candle again (which magically kept the kids much more reverent than usual). He also played the mandolin while we sang a few Christmas songs.