Magical

All kinds of craziness are happening around here.  I’m sure all of you could have said that the last two weeks.  The holidays do that…bring craziness, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  Lots of friends, lots of family, and lots of late nights and about the time Santa put the last treat in the last stocking all he (or she) wanted to do was fall into bed.  Fast forward far too quickly and far too few of hours later to the giggles at the top of the steps and the knocking on the door that leads to downstairs and yes, Santa and Mrs. Claus were up rise and shine long before they had any right to be.

This year was different once again as it was the last several years.  When you have older kids it’s hard to watch as you see them one by one realize that they have lost a little bit of the magic of Christmas.  First it was Luke and this year it was Jenny’s turn.  And I couldn’t help but remember back to when my first Christmas as an all too old child seemed to squelch a little bit of the magic.  It breaks a momma’s heart to see it happen, but I know a secret that Jenny doesn’t know yet, Christmas still has a lot of future magic to hold for her. 

The first Christmas when you are so poor because you’re just a youngin out of school and you share it with someone who you want to spend forever with.  Pretty magical.  The first Christmas when you have that sweet baby in your arms and even though all of the gifts under the tree are really things that that baby needs and not really that exciting because they are too small to understand anyways.  Magical.  And driving from one grandparent to the next as they ooh and awe over that little grandbaby.  Magical.  That first Christmas when finally that little guy can walk and toddle and he can’t wait to unwrap all of the gifts just for the sake of tearing through the paper.  Magical.  The first Christmas when in the middle of the night you have gone through all of the gifts for each of the kids and laid them out end to end to make sure that they look like they each got the same hall and you realize one just doesn’t add up and luckily for you your dear hubby found a Rite Aid store still open in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve and righted the horrible wrong that you almost caused and you fall asleep exhausted but completely satisfied cause all is right in the world.  Magical.  And the best one yet, that I am just dying to experience firsthand…when those sweet little chubby hands tear open the pretty wrapping you actually spent time to wrap cause finally your kids are older enough that you have a little time to do that sort of wrapping and they look up at you all giggles and eyes all wide with awe and say…”Thank you Grandma,” as they wrap their arms around your neck.  Absolutely magical.  See I know it’s all right and all of the magic will return and someday she will feel it too.

Christmas was beautiful and believe it or not full of the spirit of family and of giving and most of all of Christ and it was a wonderful day. 

Sam was in his all time pro during the holiday season and after all of the wrappings were cleaned up and toys tucked away our family took a little down time and Sam took to entertaining me.  Poor little boy thought that his mother was playing solitaire and certainly not recording him, but of course I was and I just had to share.  How can you not smile a little and brighten your day after you watch this video?  Jason cussed me later for not having my iphone turned right, but Sam would have known that I was no longer playing solitaire and I would have never caught the magic of all that is Sam.  From this moment on Sam will be known as "Gangster" as Nan calls him.  (For those of you on an Ipad you may not be able to view the video below.  Just got on mine and I couldn't.  Log in on your computer if you have time.  It's a sweet laugh.)

And then New Year’s Eve was spent as it always is on the Gibson front…playing a Holiday dance.  This year it was for both of the Stakes in our town and we got to enjoy it with our two older girls, Luke and his girlfriend Danielle and Bobby and Leigh.  We had sound set up and live camera shots of the crowd on a movie screen and I was running the photo booth!  It was awesome and the Stakes went all out feeding the kids both dinner and breakfast with a gazillion drawings…gift cards and even an ipad, a dirt bike, and a car…that’s right you read it right…a car. 

That's Jenny in the corner barely popping out from behind her photo bombing Uncle Cullen.

Nan in the top left with all of her friends.

Jason's awesome brother Bobby and his amazing wife Leigh along with Luke and his girlfriend Danielle.

And this next one is my favorite.  You can laugh.  It's totally allowed.  My crazy brother Cullen and his equally crazy wife Annalee.  If you're smart you'll blow it up and look a little closer.  Their expressions couldn't be funnier!!!

 

 And that night when it all ended our awesome friend Mitch watched our gear for us as we whipped away to the highschool football field with all of our family in tow to watch our son Luke propose to his girlfriend Danielle.  Magic!I couldn’t be happier.  She is the sweetest daughter in law any woman could ever ask for and we love her to death and she makes my son a better man.  Who knew I was that old?  Well in my defense I will only be turning 39 at the end of this month.  One more year until the big 40.

What do I have to look forward to this year?  Probably a lot more of ridiculous insanity.  My father and stepmom are coming home in April…crazy busy dance season starts in May…girl’s camp and youth conference and fourth of July and Stampede(Nephi’s rodeo) and 24^th of July(Utah’s celebration of becoming a state) in July…I could go on and on, oh and can I just add a wedding to boot.

Chaos and crazy and somehow all the same but every moment of it magical in its own way.