HARKER HAPPENINGS: Ferney Family Christmas


Rach, Ty and Molly

Grandpa reading the Nativity story

Raymond Family Christmas party

Best Friends in the whole wide world

Ahh, Christmas in Idaho! Santa Clause is so good at keeping track of where we are every year at Christmas! Thank goodness. While I must admit that traveling is stressful with little kids, I can't complain about this holiday not being worth every second of chaos and stress. We were watched over from beginning to end- all 15 days of it. We got out the door on the right day, our roads were bare, and we arrived safely to the houses full of our favorite people. What a blessing. I feel like the month of December went quicker than ever this year. I truly enjoyed every moment of it, and tried to keep things simple. Neighbor gifts were very limited, and I tried very hard to prioritize so that the holiday could be enjoyed. It's a difficult task these days, with Christmas being SOOO commercialized. I feel like the world is seriously trying to say, "Kids! This holiday has NOTHING to do with Jesus Christ or anyone around you. It's all about YOU!" I will never forget the event that helped me re-prioritize like nothing else could have. A wonderfully strong family in our ward lost their 13 year old son Zach, on Sunday the 18th. The ward parties were cancelled. We fasted and met together several times as a ward. So many people came together to grieve with and support the family. Zach's passing reminded me of God's deep love and mercy that he extends to all of us. His parents felt the miracles that followed his death. I learned many truths from that experience.

The fam is growing!

Mom and dad worked so hard this holiday to host all of us. I do not envy the position of the family matriarch at Christmas! How stressful to throw the parties, cook all the food, and keep everyone happy with each other. Dad was so good to the kids. Logan admires him so much. Dad took the time to get Peyton and Logan cowboy hats and bb-guns. Logs was beside himself. He had been talking about the anticipated gift every day for months on end. It was exhausting! We were all quite entertained with watching three 1 year olds with minds of their own. Molly and Austin are 18 months old, with Kate coming up right behind them. It quickly became clear to me that Austin has no concept of how to share! He would scream at the girls the second they entered his personal space. Funny, but not easy. Things we can laugh about, that weren't so funny at the time are:

Nic was a little sick over the holiday. She was trying to be really tough, but looked like she was going to fall over.
Molly had a virus called coxsackievirus, so we chased sippie cups and binkies like they were walking diseases
Peyton's had an asthma attack in the middle of the night while he was sleeping with Jess in the loft. Jesse jumped in the car to take him home for a breathing treatment, and our car was right in his way. Crunch.

I say that's pretty darn good in the department of damage control! No one got sick, and no one got hurt. That makes it a lucky holiday.