Our crazy end of the year

We had originally planned on moving to Idaho.  Ben had a residency lined up in Pocatello and so we planned on celebrating Christmas with our families.  I was excited and so were the kids.  Then about a week before Christmas Ben decided to take a residency in Georgia instead of Idaho.  So we would be spending Christmas in Dallas without our families.  I was okay with that, there was just one problem . . . we didn't have a Christmas tree or any present for our kids. 

We have been so blessed to live in an amazing ward.  We had a couple of different families say that we could borrow their Christmas tree, because they had an extra.  So borrow we did.  We put up our borrowed Christmas day about 6 days before Christmas.  The kids were so excited to have a Christmas tree.

Reese was great at hanging all the balls in one place.  She also loved redecorating the tree over and over and over again.  She did this about every five minutes.  Benson loved taking the balls off and using them for throwing practice.  He also had a nice collection of balls he had broken.

Christmas Eve came.  I was suppose to be getting a package from my parents with a bunch of presents for the kids.  My mom accidentally put the wrong zip code on the package and so the package didn't get delivered in time for Christmas.  I was so sad because in the package was the one thing Reese wanted the most, a Doc McStuffin radio.  Thankfully we had a few other things to give her. 

That night we had meatballs for dinner and an ice cream party.  We also read a story about Jesus' birth.  Then we opened Christmas pajamas.

Benson was ecstatic to have Jake on his pajamas, even though he may not look it in any of the pictures I take of him.  He is in an anti-smiling stage.  Every once in a while I can catch him smiling, I just have to snap the picture quick, otherwise he will give me the worst scowl ever!

Anyways,  Christmas morning came and Reese gave us the best gift EVER!  She slept in until almost 8:30!  It was a Christmas miracle!  We got up and the kids opened their stockings and got lots of candy from good old Saint Nick.

Then we opened presents.  Reese was excited about everything.  She was so excited that Santa Clause visited us and even more excited about the presents he left under the tree.  He also left her a sweet note explaining why she would not be receiving a Doc McStuffin radio.  That silly Santa thought we had moved to Georgia!  So her radio would be coming through the mail.  She was a little disappointed but thankfully Santa had a couple more presents for her.

Benson wasn't too sure about this Christmas stuff.  All he wanted to do was open and eat the candy that had somehow mysteriously showed up in a sock.  We tried and tried to get him to come over and open a present but all he wanted was candy.  He finally came over after everyone else started opening presents.  He is such a stubborn little boy!

Santa must have know that I have been needing some extra help keeping our home clean, because he gave Benson a broom and a vacuum.

That vacuum has been put to good use.  Reese and Benson have been vacuuming like crazy ever since Christmas day.  That Santa is a very smart man!

Tanner also got a few things, but he was much more interested in eating.  Poor guy had to wait while we opened presents.

Ben and I made an amazing Christmas breakfast.  We made ebelskivers, eggs, bacon, and sausage.  It was heavenly.  While we made breakfast the kids tested out their new toys.

After breakfast we Skyped/Face Time with our families.  I love technology and the fact that we can talk face to face to our loved ones whenever we want!  It was so nice to see their faces.   That night we had a ham dinner.  One of our home teachers dropped off a ham the night before.  We seriously have been so blessed to live in such an awesome ward.  After dinner we loaded the kids in the car and drove around looking at Christmas lights.

Christmas was very different this year but it was also fun to focus on just our kids opening their presents.  The only thing I really missed was the Christmas Eve parties our families throw every year.  It was kind of lonely, but we did okay, I think.  After the kids went to bed that night Ben and I took down the Christmas tree and packed up all of our Christmas stuff because the next day we would begin packing up our belongings and moving to Georgia.

On the 26th we packed and packed and packed.  Then we took a break and went and had dinner with some friends in our ward.  It was great to get away from our super messy apartment and have dinner with some great people.

On the 27th we packed and packed and packed some more.  Ben's parents flew in on the 27th and they were seriously lifesavers.  I will be forever grateful that they were willing to come out and help us move.

On the 28th we cleaned the apartment and finished packing up the few things we had left.  After everything was done we set off for Jackson Mississippi.  I am so glad we only decided to drive 6 hours.  We didn't leave Dallas until 2 o'clock so we didn't get to Jackson until 9:30 that night.  It was a very long day and we had two very cranky toddlers.

On the 29th we woke up and went to church in Jackson.  It was very different from any ward I had ever been too.  Everyone was so friendly and I think every single person shook our hands in that branch.
After church we continued our drive.  We didn't get in to Macon {that is the name of the town we will be living in} until about 11 o'clock that night.  I was out once my head hit the pillow.

On the 30th we went to go and look at the apartment that we had put a deposit down on.  When we got there we were in for a surprise. . . the apartment we were looking at looked nothing like the pictures online and I was not happy.  I thankfully have an amazing husband and VERY patient in-laws who let me look around for another apartment the rest of the day.  Everyone we talked to told us that there was no way we would be able to find an apartment to move in to by tomorrow.  We went to look at one more place and when we walked in to the office and told the leasing agent our predicament, she told us we could move in today if we wanted to.  She was great and showed us an apartment I like a whole lot more than the one we had put the deposit down on.  We signed the lease and decided to move in the next day because it was late and our kiddos were exhausted and to be honest, so were we. 

On the 31st we moved in.  We were all exhausted by the end of the day.  Our kids were tired from so many missed naps and late bed times, but they were seriously troopers.

We tried to let them have fun here and there and thankfully Grandma and Grandpa had iphones that they could play on/watch Super Why {that is Benson's favorite show and the only thing he wants to watch nowadays}.  We rang in the new year by going to bed at ten because the following day we had more things to do before Ben's parents went home.  

This has been a very stressful time for me, but thankfully Heavenly Father answers prayers.  We have been surrounded by wonderful people while we lived in Dallas.  I was so sad to say good-bye to so many good friends.  I am so thankful for wonderful parents and in-laws who help us out whenever they see a need.  Ben and I could not ask for better parents.  We love them and are so thankful for all they do for us.  This has been a wonderful year for our family, but I am excited to move on and start life here in Georgia.  I hope that 2014 is just as wonderful as 2013 was!