A Night in Bethlehem

On Christmas Eve we had our own "Night in Bethlehem". Amber had found a decree and a script with songs for our Davis Family Christmas Party during our Thanksgiving trip to Utah. I kept a copy and we put together our own version for Christmas Eve here with Travis' parents. The adults narrated while the boys put the nativity pieces together and I played the songs on my guitar. It was so nice to have our own special program.



The boys opened one gift to each other from under the tree and after some playtime with their new magic set and toy cars, they went right to bed. Justin woke up at 6:45 and we all lined up at the top of the stairs while Travis went downstairs to make sure Santa came last night. Justin couldn't contain himself and raced down the stairs. A big city/road rug was set out and they started playing with that and punching the mickey mouse punching bag and were so excited that I think they forgot there were other presents and their stockings across the room. We let them take as long as they wanted to discover everything. Justin was excited to get a digital camera and Tyler got a water-doodle mat with a thomas the train what follows a drawn track.



Travis' sister Nicki and her husband, Lance, and baby Brynlee drove over from Vancouver, WA. (45 mim. away) They arrived around 8:00 and we opened our exchange gifts and others under the tree.
Brynlee is 8 months old and starting to crawl. What a cutie!

By the time all the gifts had been opened, the boys didn't know what to play with first. They had a fantatstic time playing with toys and games with grandma and grandpa.

These are the most amazing blocks! They are called Wedgits and they are so much fun for even little ones to build with. G & G Davis gave Justin a set over Thanksgiving and Justin wanted more for Christmas from G & G Guptill. I love these things!

We had a fun, lazy day and a wonderful Christmas dinner with ham and all the fixings. We absolutely loved having Christmas at our home this year. It was so much fun to start and to continue with our own special traditions. I do have to say that Christmas=Family to me and we are so thankful to have the opportunity to spend Christmas with both sets of grandparents on alternating years. It will be bittersweet to spend a Christmas on our own someday.

Tyler smiles with his eyes closed (on purpose)in almost EVERY picture we took this week.

Nicki and Brynlee stayed with us on Christmas night so we could go SHOPPING the next morning. I picked up some Christmas decorations on sale and some clothes for the boys. Travis gave me a gift certificate to a guitar store and so I stopped in and picked out a Carlos Santana tabliture book with a cd to practice with. I am having fun learning. I also got some money to buy some new clothes. So, we just HAD to catch some great sales on clothes, too. :) Lance came over after work and we had a yummy prime rib dinner.

On Thursday, Justin went with Grandma and Grandpa and Travis to see "The Water Horse". He LOVED it! I'll have to see it one of these days. I stayed home with Ty during his nap and played my guitar. (I wasn't too sad!)

On Friday, Nicki, Lance and Brynlee came out again to spend the day. We went bowling and had a fantastic time. The boys had so much fun! Tyler called each gutter ball a "Gunnar Ball" after Grandpa's dog. Travis' parents had given them a bowling set for Christmas with a rug for the bowling lane. Justin has it permanently set up in his room and has been practicing. He loved bumper bowling and even beat Grandma's score! (I'm sure she loves that!) On Sunday, his primary teacher gave him some playdoh and he built his "favorite Galaxy Bowling set".

After bowling we all went to The Olive Garden for lunch. This is a Guptill tradition. This is where Travis took me on our first "date". (His two little sisters also came with us on our first date to go miniature golfing and to dinner!) Each time we get together with them, we have to fit in a trip to The Olive Garden. I look forward to it and seem to always order the same thing, salad and breadsticks and a Tour of Italy with a raspberry lemonade. Mmmmm....

Justin got a free ticket to a Portland Trailblazers basketball game for good school attendance. He got to go to a game Friday night with his Dad, Grandpa and Uncle Lance. He was on the moon about it! I was so happy for him.

Nicki and Travis' Mom hung out with Tyler and me for a while and then left for Vancouver and I put Tyler to bed early so I could enjoy an evening ALONE!

Since the Guptills spent the rest of the weekend in Vancouver, we had a quiet family weekend. It has been so nice to have Travis home with no big "plans". The boys adore him and I am so happy to be with him. It has been a great week for us.

Our New Year's goal as a family is to read the Book of Mormon together this year. We got a copy of The Book of Mormon for Families which has some pictures and extra footnotes with explanations throughout the original text. We printed out a bookmark chart to mark our progress and have highlighted 10 spots along to way for special reward activities. It could be as simple as a family bike ride or something bigger like a trip to the coast. Justin is excited about it and Tyler just bops around the room while we read. He'll be inspired through osmosis. :)
New Year's Jammies

It always surprises me how much kids pay attention even when they don't act like they are. Tyler came home from nursery on Sunday singing, "Baby Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam!" He has really enjoyed Baby Jesus songs and stories this Christmas. Tyler is starting to say the cutest prayers. He wants to do it all by himself and keeps the same intonation going throughout his whole pray which is repeated two or three times. Today for our FHE prayer (we made a new job chart), he said, "Dear Heavenly Father, thank thee for day, thank thee for grandpa come to my house, thank thee for grandma, thank thee for gunnar stay at home(grandpa's dog), thank thee for Mom, Dad, Justin and Tyler, thank thee for food, thank thee for toys, Jesus Christ, amen." Because he slurs his words and REALLY exaggerates the intonation, Justin kept laughing throughout his prayer tonight whispering, "I can't understand what he's saying!" I was so touched by Tyler's very own prayer that I thought it was the sweetest thing I had ever heard.