Last Christmas without children

This was a significant year, as I look back at it now, because everything about everything changes once you have a child!  It all changes for the good-mostly!  But I think it was an important time to just enjoy life as the child!  We were living in Las Vegas, at the time.  We had moved there the past April, when  John had finished his semester at BYU.  We were living in a two bedroom condo and I was pregnant with our first child!  I was very excited and of course, remember being so tired that whole holiday season!

We spent that Christmas with my family, who lived about an hour north of Vegas.  The gift I remember most that year was a black maternity jumpsuit!  It was way comfortable, but I think back now and cringe. I guess it was in style then! LOL!   My mom had given it to me!  I also remember that I got baby things that year, which was so fun!  I think everything about my life, at that time, was focused on our growing family!  I couldn't wait to be a mother.

The other stand out memory from that year was getting our Christmas tree!  I decided that I wanted to go out in the mountains, just like I had as a child, to find a tree!  My youngest brother was game to go with us (he was about 11 at the time), so we headed out!  The only tool we took was a small hatchet.  None of us had experience in judging how a tree would look on the mountain and then translate into a tree inside!  The one we picked out and then made John and  Kirk spend over an hour chopping down, was way too big to ever fit inside any home!  We ended up needing to cut down a part from the top to work and it left quite the hole on the side.  It really ended up being the ugliest tree ever, but we sure had fun finding it!  We almost ran out of gas too, which just added to the fun!

Yesterday was a very full day and I am so exhausted now this morning.  I kept 4 of my nephews yesterday.  They range in ages of 5 to 10 months.  It was quite busy, but fun!  Olivia and Noah were in heaven!

After they left, we quickly ate dinner and then headed out to a live nativity.  We met another family there, our neighbors from before we moved!  It was so great to see them again!  It was extremely cold outside-around 20 degrees. We had to wait in line for about 30 minutes to ride in a horse trailer to the spot where they do the live nativity.  By that point, Noah had had enough and screamed to go back to the car.  John took him back and I continued on with the kids.  There was a long path, up a hill with animals and shepards along the way to talk about the story.  Once at the top, we walked through a barn with more animals and different booths of games and weaving, etc.  There were wise men there, telling their story and two darling camels!  It was awesome!  From there, we continued on our journey, into another barn where we found the baby Jesus.  It was a lot of fun, even if we were so cold!!!  Next year, I think we will plan better with what we wear and maybe a blanket or two!

After that, we followed our friends to her parents house (which was close by) and had cookies and hot cocoa and visited some more!  It was a wonderful evening!

Here is the template for today.  This is the last for the December album and I know the numbers are random, but I just put different numbers for examples.  You can change the number to fit the day.  They are done simply and in a way to just reuse over and over again-customizing with your digital kit and your photos and journaling!  I need to get mine caught up!

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Newlywed Christmas

I know I talked a little about my first Christmas married to my sweetheart, the other day, but I wanted to talk a little more!  I think that in many ways, Christmas changed that year as we created our own traditions and began spending this special day together!

I still laugh because our very first fight as a newly married couple, was a week after our wedding, when we were on our way to pick out our first tree!  I don't even remember what we fought about.  It wasn't anything major and our fight wasn't big, just enough to fit under that "first" category!

I also learned that when one gets married just before Christmas, you get a lot of decorations as Christmas gifts.  For better or worse, we had lots of Christmas dish clothes and towels and other wedding stuff--just Christmas-y!

It was exciting, that first year, to talk about our plans for the future, what Christmas would be like with children and what traditions we would start.  We both came from different backgrounds with different priorities and it was a work of combining and creating new ideas!

And here we are--16 years later!

We had a fun weekend away!  We didn't travel far, just up to Salt Lake City (About 45 minutes away) and stayed in a hotel right next to their big outdoor mall.  We were able to eat at a few fun restaurants and finish up our Christmas shopping.  It was nice to shop for the kids without worrying about anyone overhearing or interupting us!  We also watched quite a bit of football!  I read and napped too, as the football was going on.  I do like football, so I didn't mind, but I'm not quite as into it as my hubby is!

The kids had a lot of fun while we were gone!  Anna, who came to stay with them, is a total sweetheart and the kids just loved her.  After she left, yesterday, Sam sat at the window and cried for about 20 minutes.  He loves Anna!

I need to catch up my December album.  I have the pictures, I just need to scrap them and then I'll post them!

Here is our template for today. 

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Christmas in Japan

In December of 1993, I was a new missionary serving in Hokkaido Japan.  I was so many miles away from my family and friends and all that I knew. It was a difficult time.  I had never been that far away and for that long, and I had never spent a holiday away from my family.

On Christmas Eve, I got to speak on the phone with my mom for a bit and she told me that she had mailed me a few things, but it was late so I probably wouldn't get it in time.  I told her it was fine, it was the thought that counted, but I will admit, as I struggled being so far from home and missing it so much, I was more than disappointed.  I had always loved Christmas and the magic of waking up and opening gifts.  Even though I knew I was doing something far more important than thinking of myself, I guess I still wanted something to mark that date.

I went to bed that night, trying to just not think about it being Christmas Eve. I told myself that I was giving Jesus the best gift of all-sharing a message with many who didn't believe in him and that would make Christmas special all on its own! And don't get me wrong, it really did!  It was definitely a different sort of experience!

Early the next morning, I woke up to my companion (another sister missionary) saying "ho, ho, ho".  Now, something you  need to know about my companion. She was a native Japanese girl so she didn't really grow up with all the Christmas traditions I was used to.  Christmas in Japan isn't really the same as it is here in America.  However, she wanted to make my first Christmas in Japan special, so the package of things her family had sent to her, she wrapped everything up and shared with me.  There were little things like nail polish and a little notebook.  I will never forget how fun that morning was! It was completely unexpected and totally from her heart!

That evening, as we returned from a long day of knocking on doors and trying to share our message, we returned to our little apartment to find a box of goodies left by the Elders  (also serving in our area). They shared some of their Christmas goodies with us, things like kool-aid and ranch dressing mix and jello!  They were heavenly gifts in a country where you can't buy those things and I already  missed them! LOL!

I will always cherish that Christmas as one of the best ever!

Here is today's freebie:

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A homemade Christmas

My senior year of high school (Christmas 1989) was a year that I decided to not buy a single gift, but rather to either make or regift everything.  It was a lot of fun and a great little experiment!  I made cloth covered picture frames with lots of lace (yes, it was the end of the 80's after all) and a cloth covered photo album!  I don't remember every gift I made and gave away, but a very distinct memory was the gifting of my childhood teddy bear.  I had had that thing for many years and loved it!  But I figured that at almost 18, it was time to pass him on.  My youngest brother was only 4 years old and the sweetest little boy.  I still remember sitting on the stairs with him, the only light came from the Christmas tree in the other room and I told him  how much I loved him. I also told him how much I loved my teddy bear and that I wanted to give him to him.  It's crazy how emotional I was.  I'm sure it was more about that passage from childhood to adulthood that that moment represented than an actual emotional tie to a bear.  But I will never forget that moment.

And all these years later, I have no idea whatever happened to that bear, but I still love that little brother!  He is engaged and getting married this spring and although I don't get to see him often, I hope he knows how much I love him!

Here is the freebie for today:

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Early Memories of Christmas

Happy December 1st everyone!  I really can't believe we are here, to the last month of 2011.  The time goes way too quick!

One of my goals for December is to journal about different Christmas memories-one a day!  My purpose for this is to create a record of these special holidays for many years to come.

I want to start with Christmas from my childhood.  These memories won't be from a specific year, but rather a combination of years that I remember.  I want my kids to have a glimpse of what Christmas was like for me!

I grew up in a small town in southern Nevada.  We were a few hours north of Las Vegas and although we were in the desert, we were a bit higher than Vegas and did have a little bit of winter. It wasn't often that we would get snow during the Christmas season and even then usually more flurries than snow that really stuck!  But it did happen and it always made things more magical!  I am the oldest of 5 kids, so I remember a time when my parents were young and poor and worked so hard to make Christmas special for us!

Every year, early in the month of December, we would all load up in the truck and drive about an hour to Irish Mountain to pick out and cut down our own tree.  I remember those times fondly.  We would sing Christmas songs, as we drove and there was usually a little bit of snow up in the mountains!  My dad would drive the truck, while my mom looked for the perfect tree.  When it was found, we would stop and get out and play while my dad took his chainsaw and cut it down.

Once back home, my dad would set it up in the living room, in the tree stand he made himself with welded metal.  I can still picture that simple stand like it were yesterday!  We would wait until Sunday after church to decorate.  The anticipation used to kill me!  I couldn't wait to get the ornaments on the tree!  Mom always insisted that the lights and the tinsle went on first.  And while she worked, we would listen to our favorite Frosty record and sing along!  When she pulled out the ornaments, we would look through the box for our individual ornaments.  I had ones I made in school and ones that were bought with my name on them!  We loved our little collection of individual ornaments.  Our tree didn't have a "theme", it didn't coordinate and it certainly wouldn't have been showcased on any magazines, but I remember it as the most beautiful thing!  It was us and full of love!

The month of December usually meant lots of Christmas baking.  My mom has a talent for making the best homemade candy I have ever tasted.  Her twice cooked divinity is not only the best thing I've ever tasted, but a recipe I have never been able to master!  Even now, homemade Christmas candy is one of the highlights of the season!  I remember that by Christmas Eve, she would have platters of goodies to deliver to neighbors and friends and plenty for us to enjoy!

Christmas Eve was usually spent with extended family.  Sometimes it would be at my grandma's house and sometimes at my uncles.  I remember how much I loved the lights that my grandma had on her tree.  They were very old and beautiful.  They are large lights, in bright colors and in beautiful shapes.  I would give anything to find lights like she had to recreate a tree in my own house!  I found them to be so magical and festive!

Almost every year, I got a new doll from Santa, including a Baby Alive doll, which was one of my favorites!  Some of my favorite gifts, that I remember still today are:  a new furry coat, books, homemade dress, homemade pillow case (I especially remember the one with Annie material!) and one that I will always remember was a little white table that my dad made for us.  He painted one corner with my name and a little picture and the other corner for my sister.  We loved that table and used it for years!

I know my parents didn't have much back in those early days, but I have fond memories of how hard they worked to make it special!  My memories of Christmas as a child are some of my favorite childhood memories and I've worked hard to hopefully make it special for my own children!

Thank you for indulging me down memory lane!  I would love to hear some of the things that made your childhood Christmas's special!  What little things do you remember most?

For today's freebie, I have a template for an 8x8 december daily album!  It's the cover and I hope you will use these in any way that fits!  This will be a simple album and will really work for anything!

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**Also, wanted to post that if you are wanting a FREE double pager that I created, I have been invited to host a template challenge at ScrapMatters!  You can check out all their amazing challenges and find my template HERE 

Be sure to check out their Bingo card-the new challenge tracking system!  It's awesome! I can't wait to fill mine up and get some free products!