Home for Christmas

Christmas this year was fun because we were at home. It's great being in Idaho too, but it's so nice to wake up in your own bed and get to enjoy a smaller Christmas on the off years. I loved decorating our house, putting up the real Christmas tree and the Harry Potter tree again, and going caroling with my singing group. 

We have never gone too extreme with Christmas presents, but this year was slightly bigger than in the past because we are finally making a little bit more money. We feel super blessed that Jonathon has a great job, but we definitely still need to stay within a tight budget to make things work. I think it was just about right. We have great kids that don't expect a lot, so that makes it easier. The kids were completely happy with what they received, and that makes mom and dad happy! And now to the Christmas pictures:

Santa finished his job for the night

We put a fire on our T.V. from Netflix. It reminded us of our New York days when everyone did this because no one had real fireplaces.

 Christmas Morning

Hyrum got a marble run. He was thrilled! It has been a HUGE hit.

Christian and Andrew were pretty spoiled this year. They both got Harry Potter hats, Switch controllers, and new pajamas. Andrew also got some Minecraft legos and Christian got a new sled.

The favorite presents of the year were combined gifts for all three boys. They got Mario Odyssey for the Switch from Mom and Dad and Zelda: Breath of the Wild from Grandpa and Grandma H. They have loved playing them. We have enforced a pretty strict time limit for playing video games, so luckily it has worked out pretty well. Jonathon has enjoyed the new games too. It is a fun way for them to spend time together.

Jonathon and I decided not to get ourselves any presents this year, and instead we got a new bed for Christmas. Our old mattress was 13 years old and was the only one we have had since we have been married. It was time for it to be retired. We researched mattresses for so long and were pretty set on trying a "bed in a box" type mattress from an online company like Purple or Nectar. We loved the return guarantees if we didn't like it, and many of them had excellent reviews. We were having difficulty deciding though because everyone prefers a different feel and we had no idea what we would like best. At the last minute, a man in our ward who works at a furniture store, offered us a good deal on a mattress. Against our better judgment, we decided to purchase the mattress. I don't handle sales pressure very well, and I caved.

Unfortunately, the mattress is too soft for my liking. Jonathon loves it, but I had a hard time sleeping on it for the first few weeks. I have gotten a little more used to it now, and if I sleep with an extra pillow, I can make it work. It was a bit frustrating because the store does not allow returns. Gah! We have learned our lesson. It was an expensive lesson to learn, but we won't make the same mistake again. I think I have gotten to the point where this mattress will be okay for a while, but it will never be my favorite.

The positive to the situation is that we bought a king size mattress and bed frame, and we love the bigger size. Jonathon especially loves that I don't kick him all night any more. One morning all the boys climbed into the bed to wake us up. We all fit and thought it was pretty funny... and awesome!

Overall, the Christmas season this year was really wonderful. Between the "Light the World" campaign, lots of time with family and friends, and a lovely Christmas morning at home, we felt happy and blessed.