Christmas with just you and I

I wish for the sake of parents' feelings I could say that I had a horrible time on Christmas day because I missed being with my family and loved ones that I don't get to see on a regular basis.  This year J and I decided to tough it out and try to do Christmas just the two of us.  We wanted to find an opportunity to strengthen our marriage to create memories just as our little family and it was absolutely amazing.  At first when we thought of this idea, I was disappointed because it was going to be so different from all the christmases that I had before but anything tried once is worth a shot and so we did it.  I can tell you from Christmas eve night to Christmas eve day that we were able to create beautiful memories.  J and I decided to pump up the air mattress and slept under the tree with all the glittering Christmas lights on the entire night.  It was beautiful and magical because of what we had just experienced in bearing our testimonies and the fun we had after.  We ended up staying up till about 2:30 Christmas morning so that we could create some Christmas memories together.  After reading the Christmas story, talking about our feelings, hubbins and I made chocolate truffles and Christmas rice krispie squares.  We had fun baking together and just talking.  It was nice to talk about the blessings we had over the past year, how our trials had helped us to grow and how the Lord always has a plan and a purpose for us.

Church was at ten and we decided that when Christmas falls on a Sunday we want the Saviour to be our main thought and so we decided to do the Christmas gifts after church when we got home.  I only asked J to open one Christmas gift before church because it was a dress coat for church and I wanted him to wear it that day so he opened that and we got ready for church.  It was interesting going to church when we knew that most families were still at home in their pj's unwrapping gifts around the christmas tree, playing with the gifts they had gotten, or sharing holiday meals together.  When we arrived at Church I knew that we were in the right place and doing the right thing.  The most important place to be on Christmas was worshipping Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for the blessings that they had given us in our life.  Sacrament meeting was a lot different from the normal ones I had back home growing up but this one was nice all the same.  The 2 sets of missionaries we have in our ward told different stories about the Saviour and bore their testimonies about them; two talks were done in english and two were done in Spanish.  It was nice having that element of having both languages that are so important to our ward covered and I loved it.  What better way to remember the Saviour and what He has done for us than being able to listen to what the missionaries do and the name they represent.

After church we opened our gifts to each other, ate rice krispies for breakfast and then played together.  J and I had been invited over to a member's house for Christmas dinner and so after I had made some salads we headed over there.  We ate together, played games and had lots of fun being able to be in a family setting.  In being forced to just create memories just the two of us it brought with it a ton of inside jokes that allows us to joke and laugh still.  Christmas was a great day and one that I will always remember in my heart.  <3