2023 :: week 52

December 24

We started off our Sunday at church. The primary kids sang "The Nativity Song," and Miles hid behind Elliott. I was proud of him for even walking up to the stand. In the afternoon we made a few more batches of ginger snaps and delivered them to friends. We had our annual soup potluck dinner with the Cranes (I made corn chowder). The kids acted out the nativity and then we opened one present each. When we got back home we set out our stockings and the kids decided they all wanted to sleep in Lauren's room. Lauren slept on the top bunk, Elliott slept on the bottom, and Will and Miles slept on separate mattresses on the floor. It probably wasn't their best night of sleep, but they had fun. Matt, Anthony and I watched It's a Wonderful Life while doing some last minute wrapping, then set out Christmas for everyone.

December 25

Christmas Day! The kids were up and ready to go at 7am. We could hear them before that, but they graciously agreed to wait until 7am before coming down per Mom's request. We spent the morning opening presents. The kids were so thoughtful with the gifts they got each other, and were very gracious about the gifts they received. We feasted on breakfast casserole, bacon and orange rolls for both breakfast and lunch. We had a family zoom with the Johns scattered around the country, where we enjoyed showing off our wares as well as seeing what our cousins received. That afternoon we made green bean casserole for the family dinner at my parents' house. Around 4pm we headed over and opened gifts from Memaw and Pepaw and the Crane cousin exchange. I did my best to be in the moment and not spend too much time with my phone, so I took way fewer pictures than usual. It was a great Christmas!

December 26

After receiving more baseball cards than he knows what to do with, Miles set up his card shop in the dining room again. His best pull was this Vlad Guerrero Jr., patch card. Anthony took the kids to the gym to burn some energy. In the afternoon Lauren went to Ariana's house and Will hung out with the Bensons. 

December 27

Wednesday I took the kids to Science City. It was fun, but pretty crowded. We expected as much considering it was Christmas break. The kids had fun creating with the supplies in the maker space. That evening we had ribs at my parents' house. Matt said he enjoyed the food he ate while he was staying with us. That night Anthony and I watched Die Hard with Matt and debated what criterion constitutes categorizing something as a "Christmas movie."

December 28

Lauren had her second volleyball practice Thursday night at Okun Fieldhouse. This fall Allie's mom reached out to me and asked if Lauren would be interested in playing on a rec volleyball team this winter. Lauren has never played before, but said she was willing to try. Five girls from Mrs. Koerner's class are on the team, and the rest of the team is made up of girls from around the metro. CL and Allie's moms are the coaches. Lauren felt pretty discouraged after her first practice because she couldn't serve the ball over the net. Anthony took her (and the boys) up to the church gym a few times over the past week and they worked over and over on her serve. At practice this week she was able to do it!

December 29

Friday was TJ's birthday! His main present was tickets to go the BYU game in Lawrence in February. We celebrated him by eating lots of delicious food--leftover breakfast casserole for breakfast (our second of the week) and French Dip sandwiches for dinner. That evening he took Lauren to the temple with friends Katie and Michael Howell. After they did baptisms the dads took the girls to Coldstone for some ice cream. When they got home Anthony, Will and Matt watched Dodgeball together. TJ is a great husband, dad and friend. He is doing good things at his job, spends quality time with all four kids, and listens to me talk until he falls asleep. He has spent hours last week working on updates to our room that only I really care about.

December 30

Saturday afternoon Joi texted me and said they were heading to the park and wondered if Elliott was interested in heading over. Yes! Elliott had his shoes on and was out the door before I could find my jacket. The boys played football for over two hours and Elliott was in heaven. He has such a great group of friends right now. That afternoon we stopped to wish Memaw a happy birthday. We are all so grateful to celebrate another birthday with her.