Christmas Morning

It was so fun to have Molly at Christmas this year! I can't wait for two more years when she will be able to open her own gifts and know what is going on. But this year it was fun to snuggle her as we sat around opening presents and enjoying being together. 

Our family does something really cool at Christmas time. We draw names within the family, but you have to MAKE a gift for that person. There have been some really creative gifts over the years, and no matter what you get, you feel super special because you know how much time and thought has gone into it. I guess to me it seems like this is what Christmas is supposed to be. There is no returning unwanted, non-fitting, unappreciated items. Each gift is perfect because it was created with kindness. I love it. 

Drew sewed (yes, sewed - he is awesome) pillows with pictures of Molly on them. They match the new quilt I made for our bed. He thought it would be funny to wrap a box inside another wrapped box inside another wrapped box...

Bret made a ladder golf set for Drew. He put so much time and detail into this. I loved watching him work to make it just right. I hope Drew will use it with his buddies when the weather warms up.

Abby made a puzzle with a picture of Molly and Bret (well, she ordered one - she didn't actually hand craft a puzzle!) and made a puzzle-roller that allows you to roll up an unfinished puzzle so that you can pick up where you left off. Perfect for Bret because when he does a puzzle it takes up either our small kitchen table or the coffee table.

Megan made a really pretty necklace for Abby and a cool jewelry hanger with these really unique knobs that she searched all over to find.

I made a book for my dad with his pictures from the trip he and my mom took to Italy and Switzerland this fall. I had a lot of fun making it and I hope it will help them remember how much fun they had together.

My dad made Megan a ridiculously impressive picture board. It has a gorgeous picture from one of their adventures together, but he also made these plastic covers so that she can put other pictures on top. I can't explain it very well, but it obviously took a lot of work and creativity.

Side note: Megan got engaged last week to Alex Crawford (yay! we're so excited!) and this will be such a beautiful thing to hang in their home!

I don't know why we didn't end up with any pictures of Jack, Carly or my Mom's gifts, but they did some awesome things too! 

Jack made a wreath for my mom. It was made of lima beans spray painted purple. Really cool!

My mom made a jewelry hanger for Carly with chicken wire, a frame, and some cute fabric. It was a really cool idea.

And Carly made a fabric pouch for Jack that hangs off the side of his bunk bed with pockets for his Kindle, an iPod, books, etc. He was so excited!

Here are some more pictures of our Christmas:

Drew and Abby have been sharing a car. He goes to school at the University of Utah. Abby is in high school. They made it work alright, but I think there was quite a bit of drama so Drew was planning to buy his own car. He and my parents had worked out a deal regarding payment and had even browsed at a few cars, but they totally surprised him by getting the car (he'll still have pay for it) and having in the garage on Christmas morning. My dad was pretty excited about the surprise... and so was Drew!