The Wonder (of Christmas) Years

I have heard many people say that these will be the greatest years of my life. This Christmas was the first time that I actually began to understand what they were talking about. I have never had so much fun in my whole life as I did this Christmas. I was a little bit lonely for extended family, but watching the magic of Christmas come over my children's faces was a joy I can't describe in words. We had a very special program on Christmas Eve. We were each able to share our feelings about the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and there was such a feeling of reverence and peace in our home. And then we did something really fun. We went on a Santa walk outside where we gazed into the sky for any signs of Rudolph's nose. We knew that as soon as his nose was visible that Santa would be coming to our house very shortly, and since Santa doesn't visit kids who are out of their beds...As soon as we spotted that blinking red nose in the sky James and Joseph ran back to the house so fast that by the time I finally reached them they had already stripped off their shoes and coats and were hopping into bed. It was a great motivator for bedtime on Christmas Eve. Matt and I were both so excited about Christmas that we woke up before the boys and ended up having to wake each of them at 5 o'clock. Naps were a definite must Christmas Day.

Another goal accomplished

One of Matt's goals for his Christmas break was to teach James how to ride his bike without training wheels. James is a natural athlete and with very little effort, but a lot of running on Matt's part, James was riding all over the place in no time. My two athletes have even been out running and biking together. Joseph is looking forward to getting his bike for his birthday this summer so that he can bike around with them. Isaac is content to just be outside....for now.

Goals, goals, and more goals

Last year I accomplished an unknown lifelong goal. I say unknown because I never even thought I could be capable of running a 5K X-Country Race. I know that 3.3 miles may not seem like much to many people, but for me that was an extraordinary accomplishment. Matt supported me through the whole process. He made my training possible, and he also made the actual race possible by sticking with me and encouraging me through the whole thing. It was so much harder than I could have ever dreamed, but I never quit, I never gave up, and it was the first time in my life that I just kept going even though every part of me was screaming to STOP. It was a life changing experience for me to realize that I am not a quitter. This year I have new goals about fitness, and I plan on beating last year's time in the 5K this year.