Christmas 2008

We are grateful for the time of year that directs our thoughts to the Savior and His birth. We hope we can carry the spirit of this season throughout the year.

We had a lovely Christmas in Virginia. It was a full house with four kids and eight adults. Everyone brought gifts with them and it made for a very full living room come Christmas morning. James seemed impressed.

James got to know his cousins this trip. In the beginning he followed them around and tried to grab their hair (or their hands ... or their eyes). After that he spent the majority of the time trying to eat, or at least drool on, all of their markers, princess dolls, or horsies.

Kate wasn't too sure about James, or us, when she met us. She is teething, so one of her favorite sounds is AAaaaaAAAAaaaaaa! We figured that it was in part because of her teeth and in part because of all these weird people (and there persistent hair-grabbing son). By the end of the visit she seemed to have decided that we passed muster though. She let James hold her hand on the way to church and even let Daniel and I hold her.

The girls had fun getting tickled and picked up by Grandpa and their uncles. So did James.

James loved all the attention he got.

We are glad we could spend time with family and we value the joy they bring us. We hope this Christmas season brought you an equal measure of joy and peace.

Have a happy New Year!

P.S. Melissa took some family pictures and some adorable James portraits so stay tuned for those.