These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

You know the 'Favorite Things' song by Rodgers and Hammerstein on the Sound of Music? In some circles, it's considered a Christmas song. When I was little I thought it was a Primary song. Whatever it is, these are a few of our favorite things from Christmas.

Cedar City! Hanging out with (and getting completely spoiled by) Grandpa and Grandma Jones is the best! That's not to mention all the other grandmas, grandpas, uncles, aunts, and cousins we get to see. A favorite Cedar City Christmas tradition? Heading down to the St. George Temple first thing in the morning the day after Christmas. It is the perfect way to end the season.
Christmas Eve jammies. Trust me, Levi was more enthusiastic about the pajamas than he was about getting his picture taken.

Our 'live' version of the Nativity. It always ends up being a little less sacred than we hoped, but it's something we look forward to every year. This year we were looking to be accurate regarding the time frame of the arrival of the Wise Men with our not-so-newborn baby Jesus.

Playing in the snow! Having lots of days off of school to play in the snow is one of our very favorite things.

Visiting the great-grandmas. Every year we travel north to visit our great-grandma and see the lights. It's a tradition we all look forward to.

Performing at the local care center. Daisy and Levi each did their annual Christmas performance at the care center. This year it was a little more meaningful because we got to know some of the residents this summer as we volunteered each week. Yes, Levi is one studly Santa.

Ok, this is probably not one of our favorite things, but it was funny. In our village, we had a visit from the most redneck Santa you have ever seen out at 'the farm store.' In fact, he was a little scary. He said things like, "Rudolph's got gas," and when he gave them a candy cane, "Here, go rot your teeth out." Yikes! But, the kids got to give their letters to Santa and they were satisfied with that.

My very favorite thing about Christmas? The simplicity. This year, our calendar wasn't chuck full of parties and gatherings and events. Just the stuff we wanted. My kids are still young enough that everything is very magical, and they are enthusiastic and excited about the smallest of gifts. They still have no concept of cost (which is why Levi wanted to buy Jeff a combine and hide it in the garage) and so their Christmas wishes are genuine and sometimes funny. They are as excited to give gifts to each other as they are to get their own. They are happy when other family members get cool stuff. They helped me wrap and deliver and stay focused on what is really important. Amid all the presents, they know what Christmas is really all about, and they remind me.