My 2025 Christmas Instagram post, with one of my favorite pictures:
We've watched The Christ Child almost every day this month, at the request of Logan. feels extra special this year, as it did two years ago, with our brand new babies.
How thankful I am for a loving Heavenly Father who would send His own baby to the earth to be our Savior.
One of my favorite names of Jesus Christ is Emmanuel, meaning God with us.
While we haven't been physically close to family these last three years, l've never felt closer to Christ than now.
I know that He's with me — on the good days and the hard ones - lifting me and bringing more light into my life. I love my Savior. I know that He lives and loves us.
If you want a special Christmas video to watch, YouTube The Christ Child.
The Church website had a list of fun Christmas activities coupled with how you could "add light" to each activity. We chose to make Christmas cookies and bring them to our basketball friends who live in our apartment.
Which included walking up 7 flights of stairs due to a broken elevator. <3
We drove by this beauty as often as possible. No drunk Santa's singing by the tree this year!
I finally had the endurance to be on my feet longer than 20 minutes so we decided to try one last Christmas market. It was the first time we took both kids in public as a family of four. Felt a little wild with two strollers!
Brrr!! It was cold and beautiful.
After 15 minutes, we had our half-meter bratwurst and churros and were ready to call it a successful night. Ha!
I was really humbled and appreciative of the friends who brought meals & visited us. It's quite a sacrifice to spend the time planning and preparing a meal, then walking to your train, riding, and walking some more, before delivering the food and making your way back home again.
Thank you to the Steins, Jacintos, Farnsworths, Wardles, Agbakokos, Walli, and Alice. We felt so loved and taken care of.
Thank you, Alice for asking if we had a family photo yet and offering to take one. I framed it and now Logan loves to grab it off of his dresser to carry around and look at.
We've had fun putting this little lady in new outfits and bows. She's growing too fast. <3
Christmas Eve was unique. It was our third (and last!!!) one away from family. Thank goodness for FaceTime so we can carry out traditions virtually. One of my favorites is our siblings gift exchange. We keep it a secret and share what we love about that person before they open their gift.
Christmas morning was spent with Alex and Walli, who shared a creme brulee french toast breakfast at our apartment. Then Justin left for a roadtrip an hour later and I fell into a pretty sad bubble. I've been away from family on Christmas as a missionary, and for the last two years. But this was the first time I had been married and without Justin, freshly postpartum, with two sweet, dependent children.
Again, thank you FaceTime and family, for pulling me out of the bubble and sharing some joy with us through the phone. It was still a hard day for me, but we need those to balance out the good ones. I know I'll appreciate the Christmases to come, no matter what they will look like.
What a special, sacred, hard, tiring, Christmas season - that brought us Emery Claire right at the beginning!
xoxo, a tired, happy mom
