12 Days of Christmas and the BIG day

Day 10...we watched another Christmas movie..."It's a Wonderful Life"...and the kids "camped out" in the family room.

Day 11...we were supposed to read stories, but just hung out playing games together, etc. James Cluff came to stay with us for a couple days so we spent time visiting with him.

Day 12...We finished the Christmas Advent Book, watched "Mr. Kruegar's Christmas" and snacked. The kids opened one gift each and a gift for the family. That one was Cranium for Families...much easier than the other one. We all gathered around and played a game of Cranium together.

THE BIG DAY

We had a wonderful time. On Dec 23 Big James arrived and stayed with us until yesterday evening. It was great to have him here with us. He will be in Japan for the next three years. John hasn’t seen him for 1 ½ years and then the next 3. Here’s Big James in his uniform. James told us not to buy him any presents, but we couldn’t do that. We couldn’t expect him to leave while we did things without him either. After all, he is one of the family.



All month we have been reading a scripture, story and singing a song at night which has kept our minds on the real meaning of Christmas. The kids have looked forward to it every day and often asked, “Mom, when are we doing SSSP?” The “p” was for prayer.

Hannah was sick all Christmas eve. I don’t know what she ate or what kind of bug she had. Fortunately, she felt better in the evening and was feeling wonderful on Christmas day. This is a picture of her with her friend from the fourth grade. Maleigh moved to Oregon a couple years ago, but was in town for visiting.

Yesterday morning started out in the traditional Jenson way. Tom got up at 8 am and put the breakfast casserole in the oven. Then we started getting through the shower…first Tom and then me. We finally sat down to breakfast at 9:30 am, and read 3 Nephi 11 as we finished eating.

Then we opened gifts. Each person has one small gift in their stocking which they investigate first. All the gifts under the tree have only numbers on them. One person starts by choosing a present and giving it to the person it belongs to. I have the master list. The only rule is they can’t choose one of their own and if they do I tell them that one has to wait. Then each person unwraps their gift and chooses the next one.

I made new quilts for James and Hannah this year. Hannah is showing hers off and James has his wrapped around him.

Here is Tom in the duct tape tie Tim made for him.

Big James is opening one of his gifts. We gave him a card with a photo of all of us (including him) that was taken before he left for basic training. We also gave him a rubic’s cube key chain and a wallet to put his picture in. I told him we wouldn’t be offended if he couldn’t use the gifts, but he enjoyed them and appreciated them.





This was one of the family gifts. The kids like to unwrap those ones all together.

This was the first “broken” toy…the basketball kept getting stuck in the hoop because it was frozen.

Of course, one of the best parts was talking to John on the phone. He is doing great and having a very successful mission. They are teaching a young man who will be baptized tomorrow. John said they found a three piece suit in their apartment that must have belonged to a previous missionary. They took it to this young man and it fit perfectly, so now he has a suit to wear to church. John gets to call 4 times…on Christmas and Mother's day both years. He has only one call left...next Mother's day and then he will be home! Can't believe how fast it has gone.

This is John’s girlfriend. As soon as John called Big James called Jess to let her know and she was here in seconds it seemed like.



Our driveway is wide enough for two cars, but there is quite a drop from the driveway to the street. So we like to let the snow and ice build up in the base of the driveway so it will be smooth for once. Right now it isn’t packed down very well and when Big James’ friend came to get him she got stuck in our driveway. Tom, Big James, Tim and James went out to get her unstuck. Then we said our goodbyes. Big James calls me “Third mom.” He told Tim to stop growing or he’d be taller than him. Tim just smiled and said, “That would be cool.”

These photos are of our back yard. Tom thought the snow on the trees and bushes looked so pretty in the sunlight.

The two best gifts I received...

I love gifts because they make me feel loved, but I really enjoy giving them because I can show my love through them.

My sister Nancy gave me a belt pack thing with a pedometer on the buckle so I can carry my mp3 player while I’m exercising or walking.


The best gift was from Tom. My grandpa Housley (mom’s dad) used to make beautiful clocks out of wood cross cut off the stump of trees. He would varnish them until they were glossy and smooth, and then attach a clock face and works. I always wanted one of those clocks and years ago I got a couple cuts of wood from my aunt. I’ve had the clock works for ages, but never got around to doing it. I needed someone to help me drill the holes I needed in the wood. So, Tom snuck my pieces of wood to someone (I haven’t asked who yet) and had a clock made for me. He gave the man the other piece of wood for his labor. Here it is:

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and have a Happy and Prosperous New Year!