December Recap

I hate having to do recap style posts, but let's be honest, I have really sucked at blogging lately. December was a crazy busy month in our household, so sadly the blog has been terribly neglected. The two biggest events were Christmas festivities in general (duh), but also my sister getting married!

Making their debut as Mr. and Mrs. 

Beth and her husband, Mike, finally tied the knot after four years of dating! This was definitely a long time coming, but I know that they couldn't be happier. It was so fun to reflect back on my own wedding day and remember all of the excitement and emotions that were part of the day.

Beth lived with us for about 18 months, so we had the opportunity to get to know her husband even more. They seem to genuinely make each other really happy, so it is exciting to have another member in the family!

The Swain Siblings, plus our new addition: Kristin, me, Mike, Beth, David, and Khemia.

We did have a little bit of drama for the wedding. Jaxson and Aynsley were diagnosed with croup just two days before the wedding. Our pediatrician advised us not to take the kids out, as it seemed they would probably be getting worse before they got better. It seemed like their illnesses were pretty mild and they were getting better earlier than expected, so we decided to take them out anyway. Khemia watched them during the temple ceremony, and they seemed to be doing pretty well. Once we went outside for pictures, everything changed. I think a big part of the problem was the fact that the wedding was right during their naps and it was FREEZING cold. Both kids were miserable, kicking, screaming, etc. We ended up being in one picture before we decided that enough was enough, and Mike took the kids home for naps. I stayed behind to be in more of the family pictures, but it was kind of sad to not have the rest of my family there with me.

Beth had asked Mike to help out with the sound equipment during her reception, so he had to leave early to help get everything set up. I was kind of nervous when the kids woke up from their naps, and there was one point when I honestly thought I was going to miss my own sister's wedding reception because of the kids. Fortunately, they started to perk up and so I decided we would try the reception and see how it went. They ended up doing great! I think that they loved the party atmosphere and being able to move around and explore. Poor Beth, Jaxson kept trying to get her to hold him at every opportunity. She was a good sport and kept saying she didn't mind, but I would be willing to bet that there were a few people wondering if Beth already had a kid. 

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This Christmas season seemed especially busy. Between work events, family parties, and everything else, it seemed like there was something going on every night. As nice as it was to be able to see everyone, it has been nice to slow down a little bit and enjoy time with just our own family. 

Our Christmas Eve/Christmas Day was really nice, and actually ended up not being quite as busy as years past. 

We spent the night at Mike's mom's house on Christmas Eve. We ate a delicious dinner, played games, and watched a movie. She had a pinata for the kids, which Jaxson thought was so much fun. I think that Jaxson and Aynsley were still a little young to really understand what was going on, but they knew that something was up. On Christmas morning, the kids had a lot of fun opening up their gifts. They both were able to do pretty well on their own, so this was the first Christmas where it wasn't Mike and me doing all of the unwrapping for them. After breakfast, we headed home just in time for the kids to take their naps. I was SO glad that we were able to get their naps in...both kids were getting pretty cranky by this point, so I know we wouldn't have survived the day otherwise. 

Aynsley, Mike, and Jaxson on Christmas morning. 

Look what Santa brought...a kitchen!

After naps, Mike's dad and his wife came over to visit for a little bit before we headed down to my parent's house. We ended the day with dinner and gifts with my family. Nearly all of our extended family lives out of town, but we had a few family members who were able to come in for Beth's wedding and stay for Christmas. It made it so nice to have everyone there, especially since I think that the last time we were all together for Christmas like that was when I was in elementary school.

Also, my sister Khemia got a special Christmas present that arrived a few days late...her mission call! She is going to the London, England South Mission and reports to the England MTC on April 4th! We are so excited and proud of her, but will definitely miss having her around as our live-in nanny. :)