It was our year to spend Christmas in Idaho with the Christensens. We LOVE being able to be together with everyone. I don't know how much longer it will last, but I am going to hold on to every bit of time together and every happy memory!
Jonathon had some experiments to finish up, so we didn't leave until the 22nd. There was a big snowstorm coming, so we actually left a day earlier than planned to avoid it. Joe's flight to California to help drive his family to Idaho was cancelled because of the weather, so he ended up driving to Idaho with us. It was fun to have him with us. He later caught a flight from Boise and was able to get Kym and the kids there the next day.
Since it was so cold and snowy, we spent most of the time indoors playing games. Right now, the favorite game in our family is Skull King. We probably played it 6+ time over the course of the trip. Everyone really loves it! We also did so many other fun things:
*Watched "Man From Snowy River"
*Decorated sugar cookies
*Played Family Feud
*Did a kid's Talent Show
*Went swimming at Uncle Mike's pool with homemade french fries, burgers, and soft serve ice cream
*Watched travel videos created by Sarah, Daniel, and Hannah
*Had a foosball and ping pong tournament (Andrew won the kid's division in ping pong)
*Played Prophet or Princess (you had to guess if quotes were from movies or from the apostles)
*Girl's day out for lunch at Zupas, followed by bargain shopping
*After Christmas Sales at 6 AM
*An adult white elephant gift party
*The annual Christensen Family Holiday Breakfast with all the extended family
*and much more that I will describe in more detail below!
CHRISTMAS EVE NATIVITY
I love that we do a Nativity with the kids every year, and I love that when we do it my Dad reads the story of Jesus' birth from the scriptures. This year, instead of a second Christmas tree, Mom set up a manger scene in the house. It was such a good reminder of what Christmas is really about. I loved it and the symbolism. It served a dual purpose and allowed us to stay inside during the Nativity instead of the freezing temperatures that we usually brave out in the barn.
All the kids went downstairs to the costume box and came up with some clever costumes. Hyrum, Bridger, and Carter (all the same age and nicknamed the Chicken Nuggets :) got to be the wise men, while Callie and McKay played Joseph and Mary. The kids were surprisingly reverent and did such a nice job playing their assigned parts.
CHRISTMAS MORNING
We woke up on Christmas morning to lots of snow and ice. It was a Sunday, so we were planning to go to church, but it was cancelled because of the weather. I love to go to Church on Christmas, but it did make for a nice, slow morning to enjoy. The Christmas tree was beautiful, and it was pretty magical with all the presents when everyone came out on Christmas morning. The kids got more presents than they really needed (as usual), but they were really excited and grateful. Christian and Andrew actually got new cell phones. I have always been against cell phones, but with two boys that will be in high school in 2023 and Christian driving now, it feels more important to have regular contact with them. We got really good deals on them and have made sure that we have really strict rules regarding their usage. Hyrum's big gift was a keyboard for his iPad. He has wanted one for a long time, but with us going to Brazil this year, I think it will be great for him to have one since we will be away from our main desktop computer. Jonathon'g big gift was a four pack of AirTags. He lost his keys a few weeks ago, and we faced a hefty bill to get new ones, but luckily we just recently found them. Now we can track them. Jonathon got me PowerBeats Pro Earbuds. I have never found a pair that fits in my ears and will stay in. These ones are awesome, and I feel very spoiled! Everyone also got snorkel gear for Brazil. We are planning to make the most of our tropical sabbatical!
After presents we ate our favorite Christmas breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls. Mom has perfected them, and they were so delicious!
Jonathon smoked a brisket for Christmas dinner. He put it on the Traeger the night before, got up to take care of it in the middle of the night, and also made burnt ends with the point. It was by far the best meat I have ever had. The burnt ends were absolutely melt-in-your-mouth, and the flat was perfectly cooked and moist. Everyone was raving about how delicious it was. Jonathon really has come a long way with his smoking technique, and we are the lucky recipients. Along with things like CC rolls, funeral potatoes, and jello salad, it was definitely a great meal!
SPECIAL BOOKS
Mom is amazing at making sure that there are always plenty of spiritual activities when we get together. She seamlessly integrates family fun with important spiritual lessons, and I am so grateful for her example. This year, she made a Brothers book for all the families. In it were examples from Dad's siblings and the cousins about how brothers should treat each other. They were tender stories of kindness, love, and selflessness. It was such an important topic for our family because our kids aren't very nice to each other right now, and we are working hard on creating more love and harmony in our home.
She also wrote a special book about my Great Grandpa Bierman. The project started when she was researching all of the first baptisms in our family and creating a book for that. She found a lot of resources about Grandpa B. and wanted to put it in a book for us all. She spend many, many hours on it. Since she had never published a book before, I helped a lot with the editing, formatting, and other technical issues. I know it was a lot of work for her, but the final result is so amazing and she should be really proud of it. Grandpa B. was a great man who overcame his circumstances (becoming an orphan early in life) using faith, enthusiasm, and humor to become a successful businessman and faithful member of the Church all his life. Stories like this of our ancestors reach through the generations to help strengthen faith.
TEMPLE TRIP
It has been a tradition for the last few years to set up temple trips when the family is all together. It used to be just the adults doing endowments, but now it is so fun to go with the youth to do baptisms. Christian is old enough to baptize now, so it has been good practice for him. He was really nervous at first, but he does a wonderful job! Joe, Kym, Jadyn, Jonathon, Christian, and I all went (Andrew was home with a cold). It was extra special this time because Mom and Dad were working their regular temple shift that morning and got to help in the baptistry while we were there. It was a great opportunity to see them doing service in the temple.
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