Merry Christmas!

My children are out of school for three weeks, and although there is a lot of "life" going on (doctor appointments, the stomach flu, grocery shopping, laundry, home repairs, emails, activities, etc.), I'm doing everything I can to cherish the moments with my children and enjoy this beautiful Christmas season.

My children love buying and wrapping gifts for each other (they've been saving up their money . . . and we're keeping things simple), they join me each morning for scripture study and family exercise, and we spend each day running errands, cleaning, reading, napping (of course!), and doing all we can to make this season a little better for those in need.  In spite of some hectic moments, things have been wonderful.

This December is also when Eric and I get to celebrate our 13th anniversary.

I spent three hours making a movie with Alia last night, featuring 13 years of our most memorable family photos set to the music of our favorite family songs.  Alia has been scanning photos from our old albums for weeks, and last night after we put everything together, we snuggled on my bed and watched the 10-minute movie--while I tried to hold in the tears.  It was our special gift to Eric this Christmas--and a fun "family birthday" gift.  I'll post some photos from the movie once I have a bit more computer time.

Tonight Alia and Grace made a cake so we could sing "Happy Birthday" to the Perry Family.  They made a card, cleaned up the house, and practiced a little dance for us, too. 

It doesn't seem like it's been 13 years since I fell in love with Eric.  We've definitely had our share of ups and downs, but I can honestly say I'm married to my best friend.

This is a photo of us from about a month after we started dating:

I know that not everyone has a happy marriage, so I'm always hesitant to write too much about Eric, but I also want to be as clear as I can that we are two very imperfect individuals, and the only reason our marriage is so strong is because we work at it every single day--keeping Christ at the center of everything.

My children have discovered me (I snuck off into a little corner to type this), so I will go get them tucked in bed.  I just know I won't be writing on this blog for awhile, so I wanted to say Merry Christmas to my friends and family who read this blog and thank you for your powerful influence in my life.

I hope your Christmas is wonderful!

Love,
April



P.S. We also have a special Christmas gift, including TWO free programs, waiting for you at The Power of Moms (in case you haven't seen it yet!).

Click here to receive your gifts.  Enjoy!