for unto us a Child is born

We had a wonderful Christmas this year!  I'm sure the addition of Lydia made it extra special.  It is amazing how looking at life through and with a child gives you a different perspective on everything!  We continued our theme of "Joy" for Christmas, and I believe it was a great "theme" :)  I drank out of my Joy mug each day, and as a new Christmas tradition, I bought a tree ornament representative of this year.  It says "Joy"

Our JOYful Christmas elf!

 In light of finding our own family traditions--we started (and hopefully will continue) a few new traditions.  I purchased an ornament themed for the year.  I also bought a photo frame ornament and dated the back.  How cute would that be that each year there is a frame with a family photo in it (or just a picture of Lydia) and when she moves out one day, she can take her years of ornaments with her.  So fun! (I just need to print a Christmas picture of her--to put in the frame before we pack up the Christmas decorations).

My non-risen cinnamon rolls.  But the icing was OH SO Good! :)

I also decided I wanted to make homemade, from SCRATCH, cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.  I also read where one family took food over to the local fire station.  I thought that would be a great idea!  But. . . .unfortunately . . . my cinnamon rolls didn't quite taste like Cinnabon (like the recipe said hehe).  So we just ate them at home.  I will save the plate I bought for next year's trip to the fire station!!  And I've since learned, that if you put the dough in the oven to "proof"--it can't be over 100 degrees.  Oops!  Mom said I killed the yeast. . . and that's why each roll stayed small and weighed a lot!! But the filling was awesome.  I'll try them again, and pass on the recipe.

We also read the Christmas story from Lydia's devotional and unwrapped presents in the morning.  She had a blast.  It was so much fun, and she enjoyed it a lot more than I ever anticipated.



Lydia with MomoNet unwrapping a present



Christmas may be over, but I pray I continue to walk in JOY and the remembrance of the Savior born for me!

Family Traditions

Wow!  The semester is FINALLY over, and I feel like I will be able to breathe for a while.  I've been absent for weeks--delving into the text books to finish the semester.  Glad it's over....at least for a few weeks.

So--Thanksgiving is gone...although I still have pictures to share of Thanksgiving Day with Brett's family. One of their family traditions is making homemade hot tamales. They normally do not make them on Thanksgiving, but because Brett's brother was in from out of state, it was the best opportunity for everyone in the family to participate. It's definitely a lot of work, but it's worth it!

I've always thought about family traditions--and have always thought about the ones I would want to have when I had a family.  Well, now that time is here, and so far I don't know how well I'm doing :)

I love families that have traditions that span the years because it gives everyone in the family something to look forward to.  I remember as a little girl going to look at Christmas lights every Christmas eve night, and coming home to the presents that some how made it under the tree when we were gone!  We were always allowed to open ONE gift on Christmas Eve as well.  Those were fun memories, but I would like to create many more.

My friend, Dana, gets a small "mini" gift every day of December for the kids (and even the adults too--I think). I thought about narrowing that idea down to maybe. . .the 12 days of Christmas (instead of 25). . . and getting little stocking gifts each day.

Of course, I want to share the Christmas story, the real Reason for Christmas celebration, as a family.  I have many friends that also celebrate Christmas morning with a birthday cake to Jesus in celebration of His birthday.

I don't think it is every too late to develop traditions and make memories.  I just may need some ideas :)

So . . . .what kind of family traditions have you had in your family that bring great memories?  Please share!