Easter

Easter was fun and eventful this year! 

We had Chelsea & her four kiddos staying with us, so we stayed super busy.

It was great to have all the kids together and they loved hunting for their baskets and eggs. 

It was Callen's first Easter...I think he liked it. :)

For Chels & mine and Jeff's basket.  That Easter bunny remembered us all!

We had a yummy family dinner with Shar & Trav and the girls coming down too. I love having all the cousins together, despite the craziness that 10 kids bring!  Holidays are always more special by celebrating them with family.  

Despite the busy-ness of the day, I was so grateful for a few calm moments to reflect on the divine gift our Savior gave us on that long ago morning.

I am so grateful  for a Savior who knows me personally. Who knows what (and who) I need in my life to turn me into the person He knows I can be.

 I am grateful for the knowledge I have of the Atonement and that we will be a forever family because of Christ's Resurrection.

How blessed I am to have these sweet, wonderful boys in my life. 

I sure wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now, than right here with these guys:

Christmas!

Christmas Morning at our house:

Kiddos woke up and got to open stockings right away, then we had breakfast:

Callen thought it was okay:

We tried something new this year and had the kids open 1 gift every half hour. It was a lot of fun because they actually played with the gifts in between. We loved it!

My parents made the boys these AWESOME sling shots and angry birds.  Seriously, they are the coolest things. I am so impressed with my mom and dad's handiwork. Of course they were a  hit and we all had a blast shooting down the pigs! 

We love watching Nonny & Grandpa open their stuff from us:

And Uncle Shawn:

Mckenon:

I think every boy under the age of 7 got the Imaginext Castle this year...all our friends now have it!  It is definitely a favorite, though, and the kids were THRILLED:

My mom made the gift of $ so much fun:

Love my bros:

We were SO excited for the boys to open the trampoline. We waited until the end of the gifting and it was so worth the wait:

Uncle Shawn & Callen:

Since Callen is not old enough to care, we just wrapped a few toys that were the boys at this age.  I hadn't pulled them out, yet, so I could do this. New toys for him, $ saved for us = win/win!  

Jeff and his Christmas/birthday gift, he was happy!

The best part of Christmas is spending the time together playing with everything.  We loved it:

And Merry FIRST Christmas to this little man, we are so glad you are part of our family:

We were too busy having fun and playing together to get a group shot! 

Christmas Tree!

Decorating the Christmas tree is always a favorite family tradition.

The excited chatter of the boys as we open their ornaments and tell them about each one

How the boys carefully search for the right spot to hang each and every ornament

The soft Christmas music that bring back  childhood memories

Watching Jeff lift each of our kids to reach the top branches

The sweet peace that fills our home

And the love that fills my heart to overflowing.

The night is always perfect, and this night was no exception:

I love this magical time of year.