Merry Christmas!

Can I be totally honest?  Sometimes holidays are stressful for me.  Of course, they are fun and awesome and beautiful, but sometimes when we have to make it to three houses in one day, I end up feeling a little stressed.  In years past, we have always split up our Christmas day between Wayne's mom, Wayne's dad and my family.  The time at each house always ended up being short and rushed instead of relaxing and fulfilling and Wayne, I and the girls were usually cranky and grouchy by the end of it all.  Well, we may be slow learners, but we FINALLY changed things up a bit. This year, we got to spend time with Wayne's mom on Christmas Eve, Wayne's dad on Christmas morning and my family on Christmas evening.  Truly, it was wonderful.  I loved being able to just relax, talk and spend time with our family AND the girls were also happy because they got to take time to play and take naps at a normal time. It was perfect.

This year, since we had a very limited budget, we decided we would just get small gifts for our family members. Wayne and I made a deal we wouldn't buy anything for each other, but Wayne broke his promise and got me some new jeans and a sweater.  I was very grateful. Thank you Wayne!  For Malia and Kina, we got nail polish and stick on earrings.  They LOVED them. We planned for a simple Christmas, but we were completely spoiled by our grandparents, parents and siblings.  Thank you all SOO much.  You have blessed our home and our children in so many ways. Thank you!

(I couldn't find any pics of Christmas morning at Wayne's dad's house, but I'll add them when I do)

Baby Tali with Grandma Vai on Christmas Eve

Vita, Malia, Kina and Vai at the Riverwoods on Christmas Eve

Alisa Family. . . ALL of us . . . on Christmas.

It was a wonderful Christmas!  We loved spending time with our family and remembering the reason for the season - our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We are so grateful to have each of you, family and friends, in our life.  We feel so blessed in so many ways.  Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!