December

December has been a fun and full month for us. Braden kicked off the month with a concert at his school. He sung some super silly Christmas songs with three other kindergarten classes. It was very exciting for him because he got to stand on the risers just like the choir kids do. He was on the very top. His favorite song was one that took songs that the adults would know and changed them to be Christmas songs. The kids didn't really know why all the adults were cracking up, but they loved it!

(Braden with his buddies before the concert)

Next we got to go watch Jade do a ballet recital. She has been doing ballet since last summer and is pretty good at it. We put her in dance to help her exercise and gain better coordination. She didn't really enjoy soccer and ballet was a much better fit. The only thing she doesn't like is that her "Bradeny" can't come along. The recital was so fun to watch. Jade did really well and she was very focused on dancing her best. I really loved it. We are still deciding if she will do dance next semester. I think we'll probably take a break and instead work on getting her ready for kindergarten.

(Jade eating goodies after the recital)

After that we got to have Diana and Aaron stay at our house for a few days while they visited from CO. It was a lot of fun to see them. While they were here we celebrated Christmas with the Lilly's. We got family pictures, made graham cracker and gingerbread houses, had dinner together, played basketball, and did our gift exchange. It was really fun and festive.

The next weekend was Christmas and we celebrated with the Beaches on Christmas Eve. The highlight of the night was our amazing reenactment of the night of Christ's birth. I was Mary and Spencer was Joseph. The kids were the shepherds and then the wise men. Allen was the star. Darin and Chelsea were angels. Mom was the narrator. And last (but not least) Dad was the donkey... complete with a gigantic snout. It was nice to reflect on the peace and miracles of that night long ago. And it was also very entertaining and hilarious. Let's just say our family is not the most expert at dramatic presentations. But we did get to have a lot of beautiful music. It was a very awesome night.

On Christmas our little family spent most of the day simply being with each other. That was great! We did stockings and gave gifts and then we just spent time at home. I may or may not have napped.

We went to dinner at the Lilly's that night and got to see the Gray's who were visiting from Prescott (and JD from service in NC). It was good to reconnect with some more of Spencer's extended family.

After Christmas I have been pretty busy with primary responsibilities in preparation for the new year. This Tuesday we got to see an ultrasound of our developing alien baby. That was cool. Spencer and the kids came along and it was neat to actually see that little person. It makes it more real for me. I was relieved to see only one little person since I've been getting a bunch of teasing about the possibility of twins! The baby is too small to determine the gender. That will happen at my next appointment. The doctors gave me a due date of July 6th.

All in all I've really enjoyed this month. It's a wonderful time of year and I think it was even more awesome this year. I hope everyone else also had a good December.