Merry Christmas 3

Alright... I wasn't going to say much about the presents, but I did have to show you this:

That would be my Ritz-Cracker sized ring from Alaster. Corey let him pick it out himself. I adore it, but I couldn't stop laughing about it on Christmas. It's been quite the conversation piece, especially since I hardly ever wear jewelry. I do now though! Alaster makes sure I have my ring every Sunday before we head to church. Jack gave me a necklace that I love too! Thanks boys!

Wow, these are really, really out of order. Sorry. I'm too tired to fix it. I have a Jan 31 deadline of no-more-back-blogging. Here are the boys Christmas Eve in their new PJ's courtesy of Grandma Luella. They love 'em! Aly particularly loves his penguins. He throws a pretty good fit when they are in the wash and he can't wear them to bed:

Christmas Day was beyond delightful. We were so happy that Casey and Kristine could come from Chicago! It's always so much fun when they are around. We played tons of Wii, ate TONS and I mean TONS of food (besides what is pictured here the kitchen was full of a variety of soups and sandwiches), we talked, exchanged gifts (oh boy were we spoiled, spoiled!), played some more Wii, laughed and played the day away. Knowing how few students in our ward actually have family around to celebrate special days I felt particularly blessed.

Can you spot my baby bump? I think you can see it pretty well in that black shirt. I was... what... 16 weeks?

Have you ever had pears from Harry and David? Yuuuummmmmm.

Christmas is always so hard to post about. I never can quite capture how truly wonderful it was. We were thankful to spend the day with our family, and to be able to talk to our family that wasn't present over the phone. We are thankful for a chance to ponder the gifts of the Savior and one of the happiest days the world has ever known. We are so tremendously blessed. Thank you so much to Ed and Cindy for hosting. They always go above and beyond to make sure we all have a fantastic time.
Merry Christmas to All!