Christmas

Christmas Day was exactly how it should’ve been. Ashtyn, Morgan, and Ethan were home and healthy. Chandler, who’s in Florida on an LDS mission, was allowed to Skype us from 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. (except for a dinner he went to from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m..) Here are my kids thoughts. ASHTYN: Being home in Salt Lake City + getting to see and talk to my brother all day = best Christmas ever. After the rough year that we have all had, our family was able to bond and reflect on how blessed we are. In Seattle I made the goal to be home for Christmas. Hundreds of people prayed that this would come true and I begged my doctors to let me leave much earlier than they wanted. My heart could not be more full that everything worked out. We stayed in the warmth of our home and enjoyed our gifts and each other. I don’t think it could have been more perfect. MORGAN: I feel very blessed that my family was able to be united for Christmas. For the last 10 months, the date for Ashtyn and my mom to come home was postponed many times but they were able to finally come home for our favorite time of the year. Being able to see Chandler’s smile and talk to him all day was really special. It’s not common to have a missionary who is able to spend the entire day with their family. He told us stories of his experiences and we were able to reconnect until the next time we’re able to talk to him. The whole family was together and it was a Christmas to remember. ETHAN: It would be very weird if Ashtyn wasn’t home for Christmas, so I’m very grateful that she was home so we could spend time with each other. My favorite part of Christmas was that Chandler could talk all day. When we said goodbye I think we were all very satisfied that we got to ask/say everything we needed to. ME: Every year, unanimously our absolute favorite Christmas tradition is the sibling gift exchange my kids have done since they were little. The gifts always come from the heart and this year was no exception. While watching my kids interact, there seemed to not be a care in the world. Struggles of the year were forgotten, normalcy for Ashtyn was felt, and Chandler didn’t seem 2,260 miles away.