The Stockings were Hung

Well, we are ready for tomorrow morning to come. Ok, let me revise that, I am ready for tomorrow morning to come. Graham is ready for tomorrow to come, and Nate is ready for tomorrow to come. Jesse... well, Jesse has the flu, so we'll cut him a little slack.
For most of the day, it was kind of a bad day. Nate was particularly frustrating, and I had so many things to get done that the whole day I was going going going. But by about dinner we calmed down, and things got a bit better. Graham got a bath, and got into his new Christmas jammies courtesy of Grandma. Then Nate wanted to get into his matching jammies, so we did that. Then after Graham went to bed, Nate and I sat down to read some stories. We read the Night before Christmas, and were were talking about Santa coming tonight. He really still only marginally understands things, so I was working on that with him. When we were talking about the stockings, Nate started to talk about Santa coming with a hammer and making a hole in the wall to make a fireplace. So there you go, we have no fireplace, but that problem is solved.
And then we were reading the Christmas story in his illustrated New Testament book, and he wanted to read that several times. We tried to talk about that being the real meaning of Christmas, but I think that he still is pretty happy about presents.
During this time my RS president came by with a little gift for me. She gave me a book, and this quote that she had made into a wall hanging. It was the quote that was on the program at my Father's funeral, and it just made me a little weepy. It made me sad because I miss my dad, and it made me sad because my mom doesn't have my dad tonight with her, but it really touched me that she would do that for me. It was probably the perfect present from her. Anyway, so I was crying a little bit, and Nate got concerned. He started to go upstairs and said he was going to get me my blanket. I don't know what blanket that was going to be, if he was going to drag the quilt off of my bed and bring it down or not. I told him that I would be ok. But it was so sweet of him, and that made me just a little bit more weepy. He really is a sweet boy when he's not being so loud and obnoxious.
But I can't end of that note, so I'll leave you with this. I am so thankful for all of the blessings in my life this Christmas. I am thankful for my family and the joy that they bring to my life. I am thankful for my mom, and the opportunity that I have to be close to her. I am thankful for Jesse's family, and the love and generosity that they always show us. I am thankful for so many wonderful friends that I have, and all those who have shown their love and support this past month. I am thankful for the perspective that I have, that even though this has in fact been a pretty bad month for me, that in the end, my blessings far out-weigh anything else. I am especially thankful for the birth of my Savior, and His love and attention for me personally. I have felt His love many times recently. I am thankful for His Atonement, and the knowledge that I have an eternal family, so that some day I can be reunited with my Dad. It is for these things this Christmas that I am thankful.