We've been very busy counting down the days to Christmas. We haven't taken any pictures yet, (well, besides the pictures taken with Santa,) but I promise many pictures will come soon. Here's what we've done so far . . .
Day 1 - Write letters to Santa - Taylor and Spencer both wrote such sweet letters Long letters, but very sweet. Spencer was especially excited to get his letter in the mail.
Day 2 - Call Grandpa and Grandma and sing Christmas carols - Taylor sang, "Silent Night" and Spencer sang, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."
Day 3 - Read a Christmas story together - We read, "The Polar Express" and "The Gift of the Magi."
Day 4 - Make paper snowflakes - Messy, but fun! We made our snowflakes while watching a movie together as a family, so our living room looked like a blizzard had gone through it.
Day 5 - Get pictures taken with Santa - See post below!
Day 6 - Drive around and see the Christmas lights - I loved watching Spencer's eyes light up each time we drove up to a new house. He was more excited than anyone else.
Woodbury Family Service Jar
At the beginning of this month, we also started a "Woodbury Family Service Jar." Each day we individually pick a service to perform. Once we've completed our service, we put it in the jar. It has been a lot of fun so far, and the kids are especially enjoying it. They always like trying new things. (Personally, I have to admit that I'm really enjoying the extra help around the house!) At the end of month, I will post a picture of our (hopefully) full service jar. I can't wait to see it! I am hoping this will become a December tradition for our family. Our ward has been performing many different service projects this December that our family has been participating in, and it has completely put me in the mood to serve! I think it is a wonderful thing to do all year round, obviously, but it is especially wonderful in December, when the focus of the season sometimes gets lost. With this new jar, and our other efforts, I hope our kids will grow up loving to serve those around them as much as Mark and I do.
The Temple
Yesterday, Mark and I went to the temple with our good friends, Kristi and Jarrod. It was so nice to go. (It is always quite an event, living 2 hours, (plus DC traffic,) from the temple, but when the day is done, we are always so glad we went.) When we entered the temple that morning, it was just beginning to snow. When we came out, the grounds looked like a winter wonderland. The temple looked so pretty. I wish I had taken more pictures, but it was coming down so hard, and it was so cold, we really just wanted to get in our car. Luckily, I did get one picture of Kristi and Jarrod. Aren't they cute?! It was their first time to the DC Temple, so I had to take their picture, of course. I look forward to our next trip.
4 comments:
How fun! We haven't started our countdown yet...because we haven't had a night available yet to do anything! Hopefully we can start tomorrow. I love the service jar idea. My mom had a little popsicle manger with yarn for the straw. And we would do 'secret' service in the family. And everytime we did we got to put a piece of the straw in the manger. Then by Christmas morning we'd put baby Jesus in the manger, and hopefully had done enough service that there would be enough hay for a comfy bed. The temple looks beautiful. How fun to come out to see a Winter Wonderland! We're supposed to get a dusting of snow tomorrow. Yep, you heard me right. Right here in Sacramento! Wouldn't that be crazy if I had a picture like that of the Sacramento Temple?!
I was so thrilled to be the recipiant of the singing on the phone. It made me smile big.The D.C. winter wonderland is beautiful, Jamie you will be so proud of me. I watched White Christmas from start to finish Saturday night.
I loved hearing the kids sing it made my day. that is a very pretty Temple.
I love the Christmas countdown! What a fun tradition for your kids - they will love it for years to come!! What a good mom and dad they have.
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