Merry, Merry Christmas!!

Oh, my!  Silly bands in stockings made the hit list this year!  Yay!

Both Lexi and Ella got a guitar for Christmas!  That is what they both asked Santa for, and though we don't know how to play... and haven't even tuned them yet, they are determined to learn!  Someday!

I'm surprised these are still functional... for as much as he plays with them!  The General Grevious spinning light saber was on his list... and it has provided countless hours of entertainment, not only for him, but others, as well (since it was really 2 light sabers with a connector in the middle!)

SOOO excited!  Love it!

Ella is kindly helping me open my presents... in a nice attempt to hurry the process so we can get back to her turn!!

A little makeup bag that will be PERFECT for all the...

...chapstick and lipgloss that we LOVE so MUCH!!  Nothing makes her quite as happy as GUM and CHAPSTICK/LIPGLOSS!!!

MP3 player... but she can't get it open!  (And... might I just say... it took me QUITE A WHILE to get it to work, since it wasn't compatible with the songs on my Mac... until I learned the hard way how to convert them to MP3 format... whew... I am still quite illiterate when it comes to the computer.  Boo.)

One of the very few things he didn't know about!!!  BUT NEEDED!!!!

Mats for his car!!  I don't know why, but he only had 1 under the driver's seat... so I finished the set!  ;o)

Yay!  More bracelet making stuff!  We LOVE it!  And this is a great activity that does NOT involve the TV and offers hours of entertainment!

Ella does NOT love her new outfit.  Boo!  I thought it was fabulously rock-starish!  Guess not!

I love this picture... if Star Wars was REAL... he would be a very dedicated Jedi!

Ick... this is slime, but it came in a jar and is called Flarp:  Noise Putty.  Lovely.  Basically if you stick your fingers in it while in the jar it makes a farting sound.  Ella got pink and Braeden got blue.  We now have a little farting band!  Haha!  J/K... sort of!

Braeden is the nicest little boy on the block!  He was so willing to share his new light sabers!  He and Vinny are off to rid the world of the Darths!

They got a combined gift... the Jump-O-Lene!  Since we don't have room in the back yard for a regular trampoline, this will have to do for now.  It's really just a small wrestling ring for our kids!

Peek-a-BOO!

Ella actually using it for its intended purpose!

One of my new favorites!  Santa brought Damian and I combined gifts... and this is one of them!  It doesn't take good stills, but it's wonderful to have a small video camera.  WONDERFUL!

Ella's Barbie house!  It's taller than she is!

She's showing the light that comes on in the fridge... seriously!  The toilet flushes, the fireplace actually lights up and crackles, the doorbell rings, the chandelier over the table lights up, the shower sings, and the spa lights come on... SERIOUSLY???  She loves it, though!

The bigger, purple one is actually Ella's!  They love them... though I wish we would get them tuned and they could play something that sounded nice!

Damian's Santa request.  Boo... but good for us!  Maybe I'll actually be ready to put on a swimsuit before it comes time to head to the beach every week!  MAYBE!

Thanks, Mom!  One of my favorites!  It works great for SPRINKLES (which is why I really wanted it... but for our Christmas treats I used over half of our sprinkles... time to replenish!) and other things, as you can see!  I love it!  It gave me lots of space in my cupboards!

MP3 and new towel...

...and I mean BIG new towels!  Yay!  They cover them all the way down to their toes... and Ella is swimming in her's!  Love them!

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See what I mean?  They dub as another Jedi robe... when we can't be wearing our real one.  Haha!

We hope that you enjoyed your Christmas as much as we enjoyed ours! We hope that you felt the love of our Savior, and continue to do so throughout the year! I must say that we made a pretty good attempt to "fill our manger" with straw that represented all the good deeds we did for each other and those around us! Sometimes we find it hard to feel the Spirit amidst all the hubbub and hurry of the season, but I felt it here in the MOMENTS that we were focused on each other and the well being of our family and the Savior. It's all about the great MOMENTS! So the new goal is to focus on those and not the dull, drag-you-down HOURS that seem to overwhelm us every day! MOMENTS!