Die Weihnachtszeit ist gekommen; frohlocket ihr Kinder Zions!

Ah.... Christmas. December brings with its frigid air an indescribable happiness and joy. I suppose the thing I love the most is the Christmas music (although I don't feel I listened to enough of it; I should have purchased those Trans-Siberian Orchestra tickets...). There is something about Christmas music that moves me more deeply than any other form of art. If ever I am discouraged in my own faith or if the powers of the adversary give me pause and allow my fickle soul to question the reality or divinity of Christ, it only takes a simple carol or traditional holiday hymn to return my faith to me, for only our Savior could inspire such beautiful songs to be written by the hands of mortal men. It will be one of my greatest and most fulfilling tasks to pass on the love and familiarity of Christmas music to my children.

As always, December starts out with my birthday. I'll never escape it...

Melanie could not have done better on my presents. There are three items you can see in front of me that describe my personality in a nutshell: a tub of cookie dough, two boxes of Waffle Crisp, and Malcolm in the Middle--the complete first season. I do not deserve such a perfect companion...


Soren and Lorelei did their part to decorate the tree. For the next three weeks before Christmas day itself, Soren was enthralled with Christmas Decorations, and anyone who made any mention of the holiday season in his presence was quickly given a demonstration of his affinity for the adornments that accompany the festivities. I have subsequently banned him from watching HGTV.

It's normally a crapshoot when you take your kids to the mall for a picture with Santa. We of course worried that Soren's first experience sitting on Santa's lap would be tainted by the memory of Santa being some sort of vagabond reeking of liquor and cigarettes and wearing a fake beard. Happily, the Provo Towne center had secured a jolly older man with a natural beard and a truly Claus-like disposition. Too bad Lorelei was asleep. Soren asked him for... decoration. (TLC had also been banned alongside HGTV. And Lifetime as well)

For an early birthday treat (for Mel) we went out on the town and saw the Nutcracker. It was my first time, but Mel had been to several shows before. I think she liked it; her smile never faded the whole night.

COLORADO CHRISTMAS
We drove out to Denver to be with Mel's family for the holidays. I was excited as I had the whole week off of work. What was supposed to be a relaxed drive out to the Hill homestead turned into a white-knuckle affair as heavy snow storms were rolling into both Utah and Colorado. We tried to beat the storms, leaving in the late afternoon on the Friday before Christmas, only to be met by one of the fastest accumulating storms I've ever seen in Provo. In short, it took us three hours to get from Provo to Price (normally an hour long drive). Not fun, but it looked like we had finally gotten out of the bad weather. If only that were true. By the time we had reached Glenwood Springs, CO, old man Winter returned with a vengeance. There were periods where the snow was blowing so hard, I had to listen for the rumble strips on either side of the freeway to make sure we were still on the road. And after 13 hours of total driving, 10 of those hours being in blizzard conditions, we pulled into the driveway, got the kids inside, and collapsed. Oh, and we did this all in a MINIVAN, all without incident. That's right; we're hardcore. Just wait til I get my truck.

But it was all worth it. Once at Gramma and Papa Hill's home, we had one of our happiest Christmases yet.

Here's Soren opening his "secret Santa" gift. It was perfect; little 18-wheeler with a race car in the bed, appropriately named "Tiny 'n Tuff", just like Soren.



Christmas morning came and went, as always faster than it should given the building anticipation for its arrival. But we sure had fun. Soren latched onto his new Buzz Lightyear, and hasn't put him down for weeks now. I think our kids appreciated the gifts; maybe Soren will know to look forward to it next year.


We closed out the trip by going out to bowl with the family. I'm amazed we got these two great pictures out of the event; our kids we fussy nearly the entire time. But what's to be expected when you happen to plan family bowling during "Cosmic" hour. Our children haven't been the same since.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!