The Whole Fam Damily

 This never happens.

Every. Single. One. of Us.

 Together.

It should happen again. 

 Real soon.

Happy Christmas!!

 Christmas morning began at 7:30am.
Such angelic little monkeys.

 Twinkling eyes and high-pitched squeals were rampant.  That Santa...he's so smart.

 Christmas day was my favorite.  From breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa to lunch with Erika and Brandon to dinner with entire Wallace clan, the day was jam packed with food and family.  And there truly is not a more perfect combination on the planet.

To top it off, Tracy made every single double x a most gorgeous scarf.  Isn't she a dear?

Another magical, memory-filled moment of merriness goes down in the books.  

It doesn't get much better than this.  

God is good.  So fantastically good. 

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was beautifully busy and busily beautiful.  

We began with the blessing of Eden Rose.  Allen and I were completely charmed by the outpouring of love and support that was flowing for our baby girl on her special day.  Every single member of my family was present as well as Allen's sister, her husband and their sweet little girl.  It was a monumental moment when Eden was held in her father's arms and encircled by the Priesthood as she was given a name and a blessing.  I could feel the power that united those men and I am certain at that precise instant Eden had never been more safe or protected.  Completely cherishable.

My parents have perfected the art of gifting memories; this year in the form of a humongous bounce house. It expertly entertained the cousins of all ages while allowing the adults to interact on a more human decibel.  Genius.  

Elation in it's purest form.

The night concluded with a hearty meal, matching jammies, spreading of reindeer food, a serene reading of the Christmas story, and slumbering sweetly so Santa could come perform his annual duties.

That's a whole lot to Love.

On the Twelfth day of Christmas...

 ...our happy family created a choo-choo candied confection that was a stunning site for the eye and a chocolate feast for the belly.

 The tradition of my childhood continued.  And it did my little heart good.

 What an adorable grandma that Deb is.

And what happy munchers those children be.

On the Eleventh day of Christmas...

...our happy family drove down to Georgia and spent the day with cute cousin Carson and adorable angelic Allie (and Megan and Adam and Grandpa and Grandma and Amanda).

On the Tenth day of Christmas...

...our happy family visited the kids school to sing politically correct songs of festivity.

On the Ninth day of Christmas...

 ...our happy family constructed paper snowflakes to add a touch of wonderland wintery.

A Happy Interruption

 On Monday this little angel became a three-month old.

 The most perfect three-month old on the planet.

 The itty bitty thing has rolled from tummy to back and back to tummy.  

 On multiple occasions.

 (pictured in her blessing dress.  To occur on Christmas Eve)

So maybe she isn't completely perfect.  

But she is definitely just right. 

On the Eighth day of Christmas...

...our happy family admired twinkling lights as we drove from basketball to gymnastics to the doctor of gynecology.

This "event" was a stretch, but it was one of those days where it's totality was spent in the car.  Meals, homework, naps, etc.  And so, taking in our surroundings was all the festivus we could muster.  Interesting to note: the uglier and hodge podgie the Christmas decor, the more amazing my children found it to be.  

Gross.

On the Seventh day of Christmas...

...our happy family sang the longest and most raucous rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas there ever could be (with actions; pictured, 10 lords-a-leaping).

Or maybe Tess had just experienced a faith healing and was all "thank you Jesus."

On the Sixth day of Christmas...

 ...our happy family pieced a festive puzzle and devoured a decadent minty brownie.

On the Fifth Day of Christmas...

 ...our happy family dressed in our Sunday best and dined on a fine almond puff pastry.

 (Green tree theme is dead.  I'm out.  Kaput.)

On the Fourth day of Christmas...

 ...our happy family rode wild animals and saw twinkling lights strung on a variety of Garden State green trees.

Linley still hates those in full costume.  She is intelligent.

 This little bundle of sugarplum stayed snuggled in snoozing in her stroller throughout all the sparkle.  She is also intelligent.

 See how we strategically placed ourselves around that Z??  

We are so intelligent.