Christmas In California

Once again, I had huge ideas for our Christmas Season.  And yet again I was humbled by the fact that I could do so little during this time.  And that humble feeling was good for our family.  Our celebrations were more simple but it helped us to focus more on what Christmas is really about.  For starters, our annual advent calendar which in years past was full of candy, activities, and small presents was changed.  Although it started filled with the usual surprises for the kids to find each day, there was a feeling about it this year that was a little off.  The girls (no doubt struggling with the fact that they had a neglectful mother) became a little demanding and greedy about this advent calendar.  We decided that a change needed to take place in our home.  We needed to take a step back and really reflect on what we wanted our Christmas to be about.  We sat down as a family, watched this Christmas message, and talked about ways that we could give back to our Savior.  We then removed everything from the advent calendar and replaced it with things we could do each day to give a gift to Christ.  Most were simple things such as "Pray for someone in need" or "Be kind to a stranger" while others were bigger like "Buy and donate food" or "Donate some of your toys."  The change in our home was wonderful and welcome.  The girls still got a thrill of our daily gifts but the feeling of giving far outweighed how we would have felt by just receiving.  We will definitely be making this our new annual tradition.
When days were good for me, we also found some new ways to celebrate here in California...

The Christmas Train.  CalTrain decorates one of their trains and makes stops around the Bay Area. It was pretty cool to see. 

The Creche.  Displays of Mangers from all over the world are brought together for this time of year.  Although we couldn't take pictures throughout the displays, they had a fun playroom for the kids. 

Christmas with Grandpa Wayment.  My dad came to town just before Christmas and we had a blast celebrating with him.  He took us out to dinner and then we came back for presents.

Ward Christmas Party

Gingerbread houses at Addie's School.  We have loved being a part of the Fun Fridays that the Kindergarteners have each week and this one topped them all.  The teachers have been so great about letting Quincy be a part of all the activities, and she has no problem fitting right in with the class. 

Decorating Cookies

Devin had a work party.  Can you tell what kind of a party it was?

Christmas Eve.  We had a blast at Christmas In The Park where we checked out the displays, rode rides, and enjoyed a warm Christmas Eve.

 When we got home we opened our Christmas Pajamas.  The girls even got some jammies for their new dolls.  

Christmas Day

Once the presents were opened, we spent some time playing with our new treasures, and fully enjoyed our Christmas morning we headed out to Monterey where we enjoyed a typical Christmas Night... A Sushi dinner and playing at the beach!

The girls love hotels so we spent that night at a hotel near the beach and then spent the next day at the Monterey Aquarium, walking down Cannery Row, and more time at the beach.

Christmastime was very different for us this year.  We were in a new place, without our families, and no snow.  While we missed our families, we enjoyed the new experiences we shared during this time and though it was more humble, it will be a Christmas that we won't soon forget.