Christmas Day

Christmas Day was wonderful.  Elaine came over about 8 AM to watch the girls open gifts.  I made breakfast.   Alfredo was the official photographer as the girls opened gifts and he took great delight in capturing their facial expressions.  I love these photos because they show both the joy and the silliness of the girls as they opened gifts.  So I know there are about 5 trillion photos but I'm including most of them because I love the shots Alfredo captured.

 Then after a couple of hours of cleaning up and resting, we headed to Elaine's for lunch.  We visited with Elaine and my grandpa.  Then we headed to Leo and Annette's to celebrate with them.

At Leo and Annette's we ate delicious tacos, we played the game Mexican train for a couple of hours, we opened gifts and we enjoyed time together and with friends.

On Christmas Day, I posted the following on Facebook/Instagram, and it's a good summary of my feelings this holiday season:
"Thankful and blessed...My shirt really sums up my feelings. Why? Because I get to spend my days with these wonderful people. Because I KNOW Christ lives and loves me. Because I have the dearest and best people in my life...fabulous family members, fantastic friends, the best neighbors, awesome coworkers (past and present), and wonderful ward members. Because I have a warm home and food on my table. Because I live in a land of freedom and opportunity. Because I have received a wonderful education and have opportunities to continue to learn daily. Because I have a job I love. Because I have spent the past couple of days with many of the people I love, celebrating the birth of the Savior I love. Because despite the challenges I face and the sorrow that sometimes accompanies our journey through this life, I find far more reasons to rejoice than reasons to complain. Because I have been given much...and because I, too,try to give. For these reasons and so many more, I am thankful and blessed!"