Merry Christmas and Happy 2008!

We had a great Christmas! Nana and Papa came out and spent the week with us for all the festivities! We had a blast having them here. Our Christmas morning started out a little differently this year because we had to get up early so we could talk to my sister who is on a mission in Estonia. That was a great start to the day, it was so fun to talk to her and hear her voice again. We all love her and miss her so much. Then the kids woke up and it was time for our traditional Christmas breakfast which was delicious! Next we opened presents and stockings and then it was time for our big presents which we find by following clues written by Santa. Since Christmas was at our house this year Garrett got to try his hand at writing the clues which gave my dad a much needed break. He did a great job! Rylynn and Carter loved their presents and the magic of Christmas morning! It was so fun to see their faces light up and get so excited with each present they opened. Kids make all the work of Christmas worth it! Later that night we had a great prime rib Christmas dinner with our friends Ali and Kolby and their kids. All in all it was a huge success! Unfortunately, we video taped most of Christmas so we don't have any pictures to share.

Our New Year's Eve celebrations gained new meaning last year when Carter came into the world! So this year we had our usual fondue party but we also had birthday cake and presents for the little man. Rylynn was a big helper when it came to opening Carter's presents! I think his favorite part was eating his cake, but he liked his presents too! He loves standing on everything lately so as you can see in the picture he is surfing on his present before he opened it. Also notice the cute new Christmas jammies he is wearing from Nana and Papa!

It has been really neat for me to reflect on the past year because Carter's labor and delivery were really hard for me. He was an emergency c-section so it was a totally different experience from Rylynn's. I have thought several times back to last year and the long, painful recovery and now to the beautiful healthy boy that we have been blessed with. I have been struck by the overwhelming love I have for him and the fact that I would do it all over again in a minute just to have him in my life. I love my Carter so much!

Nana and Papa had to leave us yesterday. We were sad to see them go! We had lots of fun adventures with them while they were here and more importantly we had tons of yummy food! We always love spending time with family. However, I think they were happy they got out of here when they did since it snowed all day long and we woke up this morning to a foot of snow! Happy New Year everyone! We are so thankful for good friends and our wonderful families!