Christmas Day

Nothing too different and exciting to report, pretty much the same kind of celebration we have been having for a few years now, but it was perfect just the same. It was just the four of us, cozy and quiet. The girls had to wake us up…even though it was NOT the crack of dawn. We have definitely become “old folks” and sleep in a lot more than we used to. Anyway…the girls woke us up and we unwrapped presents. One other “tradition” broken this year…no Santa presents. He knows the girls are old enough to handle it and let him concentrate on the younger folks, you know one less house to stop at. We are Santa believers and knew we could really help him out in a big way! There were still fun surprises under the tree and some sweet giving moments.

My favorite this year was Maryn unwrapping the calendar that Kelsey made for her. Kelsey did a “Beauty and Beast” themed calendar since Belle is Maryn’s favorite. It is practical and fun all in one. Maryn was so touched by Kelsey’s thoughtfulness and the time she spent on it that it brought tears to all of our eyes. Next would be Kelsey opening up her phone. She was super excited and surprised—surprised she got one and that I was able to keep it a secret.

After presents, we set to work on our favorite Christmas morning tradition…pork chop breakfast! Everybody pitched in and before long we were ready for our feast. During our preparations we did get a visit from Hunter and Ellie. They stopped by to thank us for their scriptures and totes! I also used some of the down time to take pictures with my new toy…a new camera! Kelly completely surprised me with that one.

Christmas Eve

We had a great Christmas Eve. I love Christmas Eve. I love our traditions for Christmas Eve. We did change one tradition. I told the girls I was no longer buying pj’s for them for Christmas eve. I told them I would buy them something more useful and that they could still open it on Christmas eve, but I was done filling their drawers with jammies. After all, my mother stopped buying me pajamas when I was their age. Sure it occurred naturally with marriage, but that isn’t the way we are doing things at the Hillman’s, so, we are creative and are exploring new ways of doing things.

But I digress. Back to my favorite night of the whole year…

First, we gather loved ones—sometimes friends, sometimes family, sometimes both. This year it was family—the local AZ clan: Michael and Linette and Dan and Jeanene.

Then we eat. The last couple years we have done soup and rolls. Everyone brings their favorite soup and we sample them all till we are stuffed.

Disclaimer: photo heavy with terrible photos due to bad lighting, poor photographer and constant movement!

Then it is time for wackiness and fun. This year we asked everyone to prepare a Christmas song to share with the group—serious or fun. First up, the Green’s shared one of Linette’s favorite memories and they sang “Jingle Bells”. Madison was next on the piano, with Jeanene on the elf karaoke. Then everyone was up (literally) for “Ghengis Style”—not even sure I am spelling that right. It is a crazy dance that the kids all do at their dances…and at home whenever the song is played. The Snell’s favored us with a rendition of “Once Their Was A Snowman” by VoiceMale. We participated too, there just aren’t any pictures of that—which is really a shame because of well, the next sentence. Kelly (aka Justin Beiber) and I (aka Mariah Carey) sang a duet “All I Want For Christmas” with Maryn and Kelsey as back-up singers and dancers. We really should have gotten a picture of Kelly as Justin. We spent some time playing with the elf karaoke—it distorted your voice so that you sounded like the chipmunks—which was a great source of laughter.

 

After the performances, we pulled out the chimes. Every year, that just gets better and better!

After chimes, we settle down for the Christmas Program, where we read scriptures and sing Hymns to remind us of the real reason for this most memorable night. After the laughs and fun, it isn’t hard to reflect and be grateful that you have loved ones gathered close and the chance to talk and sing about the greatest gift given to mankind. It looks cheesy, but seeing these precious kids dressed up just warms my heart, and fills it with gratitude for all of my many blessings.

After the nativity, we opened gifts—pj’s for everyone—except Maryn and Kelsey—they got exercise clothes!…were comfortable enough to sleep in…

We always end the program with a testimony. Kelly shared his publicly that night, but here is mine privately. Jesus, Lord at Thy birth. The babe in the manger was born with such significant names: the angels declared to the shepherds that the Savior, Christ the Lord was born, the wise men sought the King, Immanuel, Counselor, and Mighty God were also used to describe Him. His birth brought Hope into the world and gives me hope today. All of my hopes are centered in Him, for without Him I would not hope for eternal life, hope for forgiveness, hope for strength to overcome trials and hope to feel His love in times of sorrow and joy.

Winter Walk

When we planned out our Christmas activities, Winterhaven made the “must do” list this year, so we put it on the calendar for after Maryn came home. Little did we know, that we picked the same night to walk through the lighted streets that worked the best for every one else in town too--I have never seen it so crowded! We still had a good time though. Sonya and Andrew came over for dinner before we headed downtown and we introduced them to French Dip Sandwiches—(which they liked very much.) After that we met up with the Snells and started our tour, weaving our way through the streets of the lighted homes and yards. One of the favorite spots for the girls in the group, was the Disney princess house—with each declaring their favorite princess. My favorite was the gingerbread themed house and yard. We noticed a new and popular addition this year--many  of the homes had created “photo ops” for the visitors to use. We took advantage of this one for a fun shot with Sonya and Andrew. Grace loved the lights, but not always the walking so she found ways to rest her tired feet.

Annual Snicker Train Event

Our annual snicker train night with the Hunt’s turned into a big party! We ended up with more guests at the last minute, but we still had a grand time. We wanted to have Hunter and Ellie come so we knew we were going to increase by two, but just a few days before our scheduled day, Kelly invited another co-worker and his family to join us, and we found out that Sonia and Andrew were going to be in town so we asked them to come as well, increasing our number by six more.

We started off with pizza and salad with Stephanie’s red onion dressing that I LOVE. We wanted to get some kind of nourishment into our belly’s before getting all that candy out. Then we got our the “supplies” and let the creativity flow…

Then as each one finished I took a picture and we started loading up the “train station” for our final picture. Soon the station was packed with all of the trains parked and ready to go home with their owners. Here is a fun picture of the whole group of “engineers”!

Cameron

Andrew

Rachel

Ellie

Hunter

Tristan

Asher

Maryn…her theme this year was snakes on a train

John’s train with a bon fire

Kelsey’s train

The Organ Stop

This was a first for me. I have never even heard of this place until Sister Ashby announced that before going to the temple to see the lights, we were taking all of the young women to eat dinner at the Organ Stop.

We met at the church parking lot and drove to Mesa, arriving at the Organ Stop just in time to order pizza, find our reserved seats and get ready for the show. First the lights dim and then you start to hear the music. But there is nothing to look at except the lighted organ pipes, with the glass doors opening and closing to let the sound out. Now you notice all the pipes and other instruments lining the walls all around the room. Then finally the organ and organist rise up out of the stage floor! It is quite a sight to behold.

We sat and ate and listened to a variety of tunes from Christmas classics to show tunes. There was a request jar that the organist would check every few songs, but mostly he tossed them aside and played what he felt like. From his seat he runs a complicated one man band including percussion and horns to accompany the organ. He never said a word, just played for about half and hour and then disappeared the same way he had appeared, into the stage floor. We finished up our dinner and left just as the organ began to emerge again for a new audience, with a new set of songs.

Family Christmas Fun

Saturday we started our day out with a 5k run/walk/rode. It was rainy and a bit chilly, but we were all warmed by the Christmas spirit as we gathered for the race. Some young friends of ours from the ward sponsored a race with a small registration fee to collect money for needy families. We weren’t really planning on keeping up with the runners, but we did want to be moral support--we thought that the fun run was a great idea and a worthy cause, so we joined the runners, walkers and riders out in the sprinkling rain along the trail at a local library. Lucky for us they found a way for us to truly contribute--pushing a stroller to help with kid control! Perfect way for us to participate!

After Kelsey got off of work we headed to meet Maryn and go to the temple. We all did our own thing at the temple and then met back up to get some dinner and walk the temple grounds through all the lights. It was rainy up in Mesa too, but that just added to the beauty and the fun. The lights were reflected so beautifully in all the wetness around us and what better excuse to bundle up?!!

Here are some of my favorite shots…the last one being of my silly family. As I was trying to get down low for a different angle..suddenly there were “heads” appearing in my shot. We got a good laugh out of that one…maybe it is another you had to be there moment. I don’t know. It still makes me laugh today!