The Hansens: December 2014

We had such a fun Christmas season! We decorated gingerbread houses while listening to the First Presidency Devotional for FHE one Monday night. Jenna was a great listener. She kept pointing out words that she recognized during the talks. Ivy didn't decorate but she helped us eat the candy while we decorated. :) We went to see the lights at Temple Square which was really fun! We sang Christmas songs the whole ride up there. At one point, Andrew turned on the radio but Jenna told him to turn it off because she was enjoying our caroling session. We saw the lights and many Nativities representing different cultures. On the way back. Andrew pushed the empty stroller while I carried Ivy in one arm, and held Jenna's hand with the other and we skipped and laughed our to the van. :) It was one of those times when you look at your present situation from outside yourself and can't help but smile. I don't know if that makes sense. They were precious moments. :) We had FHE at our house one Sunday with the Blacks, Daltons, Sara and some of her friends. We did a White Elephant gift exchange and dessert. During November and December we filmed the kids answering gospel related questions and Sara spent hours editing it all and made an awesome "Out of the Mouths of Babes" video for Andrew's parents. It will forever be a family treasure.
One night, Andrew went to the gym and the girls and I went to Seagull book, bought a bunch of awesome Christmas books for a crazy bargain, and then went to see the "Tree of Life" in Draper. It is a huge tree filled with lights that glimmer and shine. Once we were close to the tree it was kind of hard to look at because it was so bright!
We were able to get a great deal on Ice skating tickets to the Gallivan Center. Jenna liked it but the ice skates bothered her. Ivy wasn't even walking yet, but she LOVED ice skating! Every time we tried to take a short break and pick her up, she would kick her little legs with ice skates on them until we put her down to ice skate again. :)
During the week leading up to Christmas, we stayed at my parents' house for a few days. my sewing machine broke and I needed to use my mom's to finish making my parents' stockings, my Dad and Wendy had both recently added dogs to the Hughes household and visiting was getting a little difficult, so I wanted to stay at the house for a few days so the girls could get used to the dogs and not be afraid of them. Mission accomplished! And I had just been around my dad a few moments here and there and I wanted to spend some good quality time with him. I wanted to see him still being himself since all of this stuff with Parkinson's has happened. It was really kind of healing for me. We have had a very warm December. No snow in sight! But on Christmas morning, lo and behold, we woke up to a white christmas! It has been snowy and cold ever since. :) On Christmas Eve we had prime rib, which has become a tradition for my side of the family over the last couple of years. It is such a delicious tradition! We also made cookies for Santa and left them with a note on the fireplace. On Christmas morning, we woke the girls up at 8 am and went upstairs to enjoy opening presents! It was a really fun Christmas. We talked with Jenna a lot about how Christ is in the word Christmas and Christmas is about Him. We also taught her that the reason we give gifts is because we are celebrating the greatest gift ever given, which was Heavenly Father sending Jesus to us, and all of the gifts Jesus gave us through the atonement and His resurrection. She totally gets it. :) It is very easy for her to understand the true meaning of Christmas. She is a sweetheart. :)
I am so grateful for my little family and my big families and the time we are able to spend together doing fun things!