A Very Merry Christmas!!!

I guess I kind of took an unannounced hiatus from blogging this week. We just had WAY too much going on that sitting behind a computer was not feasible. Here's what's been going on:

*Sick Girls-

Late Monday night the girls randomly woke up with 104 degree fevers (give or take a few points of a degree). Adrienne woke up first at 10:30 and then Brooke woke up around 11. Little did I know that 4 horrible hours of screaming would come from Adrienne. We were up until after 2 when John finally came home during his shift and put her to sleep. It was the night from you-know-where!

The next morning both girls were running high fevers and after the last fever ordeal that occurred in early November, I was NOT waiting to get them seen by a doctor.
Sure enough, both girls checked out fine as far as ears and lungs were concerned and he said that it was probably just their colds that they had mixed with a virus of some sort. Because Adrienne is so little still he wanted to rule out pneumonia and meningitis so he sent her for blood work. I was fortunate to have my dad there to help me but it turned out to be quite the exhausting ordeal... After trekking the girls (car seat, blankets, diaper bag, coats, and all) through the hospital to get to the lab and then back out to the car, the lab called and said that her blood had clotted so they had to redraw it. Not only did the poor baby have to be poked again but we had to lug them back into the hospital. When it was all said and done, we were there for over 3 hours. Me oh my!!

The final result was that Adrienne's blood work looked great (thank God) and the next morning, both girls were completely fine. All three of us have been battling colds but I think that we're finally all starting to feel a little bit better!

*Christmas Eve

Because of how John's days off fell we saved the majority of our shopping for Christmas Eve. Surprisingly, the mall was dead and there were LOTS of amazing deals. We got an early start on it, which I credit much of our success to. John and I went our separate ways so we could finish shopping for one another and I had withdrawn some cash from the ATM. After spending not even half of the two hundred bucks that I took out, we headed out to the car to head to Wal Mart. That's when I realized that I had LOST the remaining money:-( I was crushed and really frustrated and kind of nervous to tell John about what I had done. When I told him he just hugged me and told me that someone else must have needed it worse than us. What a man! I DO NOT deserve him... Not even one bit!

That night we had a beautiful candlelit ceremony at church where we sang Christmas carols and read the Christmas story. It was such an intimate and special time to celebrate our Savior's birthday! Hearing the scriptures that tell the amazing story of Jesus' birth will never, ever grow old to me!

Even though both of our families were having parties that night we decided to go home and enjoy just our small immediate family and have some alone time. We got fun appetizers... Buffalo wings, potato wedges, and mozzarella sticks and watched a Christmas movie while eating them. It was just a wonderful night!

*Christmas Day

We had an amazing day today! Our Christmas day was the same as it has been for the past years... We wake up and have a nice quiet breakfast (that John makes!) and open our gifts and stockings. After a bit we head out to John's grandma's and exchange gifts with John's large extended family. Next, we go to my parents' house for Christmas with that side of the family and we have a big lunch around 3 or so. Lastly, we head to John's parents' house and exchange gifts with his parents and siblings. It really is a crazy day but Christmas wouldn't be the same if we didn't get to spend it with all of the people we love!

We came home with over $400 in gift cards and a car and trunk so full of presents, toys, and clothes that we seriously barely got it all home. It's amazing how many people love us and wanted to shower us with gifts. I am blown away year after year.

Now that this holiday season is coming to a close, I'm sad. I wish that the joys and festivities didn't have to go away and that this season didn't have to end! Life is so wonderful and we have so many awesome things to look forwards to so I guess it's not so bad. Besides, Christmas will be here again before we know it!

I hope that everyone else had as wonderful of a Christmas as my family and I did. God bless you all!

Oh yes, and if you're lucky, pictures will be posted SOON!!!!