I love traditions, I love our tradition of reading Christmas books together. We started last night. I love snuggling with my kids. I'm so glad that they still like to snuggle and love picture books. Here is a list of some of our favorites that you might like to share with your family:
1. "Gingerbread Baby" by Jan Brett
2. "Santa Calls" by William Joyce
3. "Frosty the Snowman" Illustrated by Richard Cowdrey
4. "Santa Kid" by James Patterson Illustrated by Michael Garland
5. "Red Ranger Came Calling" by Berkeley Breathed
6. "The Polar Express" by Chris Van Allsburg
7. "Auntie Claus" by Elise Primavera
8. "Auntie Claus and the Key to Christmas" by Elise Primavera
9. "The Twelve Days of Christmas" Illustrated by David Delamare
10. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr. Seuss
11. "When Jesus Was Born in Bethlehem Illustrated by Joseph Brickey
12. "The Night Before Christmas"
13. "The Christmas Bear" by Henrietta Strickland
14. "The Christmas Ship" by Dean Morrisey
15. "A Child's Christmas" Illustrated by Thomas Kinkade Writen by Douglas Kaine McKelvey
16. "Snow Riders" by Constance W. McGeorge
17. "The Mystery of the Missing Red Mitten" (the new version - it has more color pictures) by Steven Kellogg
18. "The Christmas Blizzard" by Helen Ketteman Illustrated by James Warhola
19. "An Elf for Christmas" by Michael Garland
20. "The Mouse Before Christmas" by Michael Garland
21. "The Christmas City" by Michael Garland
22. "The Light of Christmas" by Richard Paul Evans
23. "A Piggie Christmas" by Howard Fine
24. "Nicholi" by Cooper Edens Illustrated by A. Scott Banfill
25. "Crispin the Pig Who Had it All" by Ted Dewan
26. "Peter Claus and the Naughty List" by Lawrence David
27. "The Last Christmas Present" by Matt Novak
28. "The Snow Family" by Daniel Kirk
29. "The Elves and the Shoemaker" Illustrated by Margaret Walty
30. "The Worst Person's Christmas" by James Stevenson
31. "My Favorite Things" Illustrated by James Warhola
32. "Merry Christmas Big Hungry Bear" by Don and Audrey Wood
33. "The Gingerbread Man" Illustrated by Norman Messenger
34. "Snowmen at Night" by Caralyn and Mark Buehner
35. "Snowmen All Year" by Caralyn and Mark Buehner
36. "Snowmen At Christmas" by Caralyn and Mark Buehner
37. "It's Christmas, David" by David Shannon
Sorry, bad quality of Chirstmas pictures this year. We took a lot of video though.
Hannah's Christmas p.j.'s she sure was a good sport this year about being "surprised" for her gifts
Fun pictures from Christmas, wow though, I sure didn't get many. I'll have to do a much better job next year. Derek is opening up a "Myth Busters" experiment kit. He loves experiments.
I sure do love these two pictures. I am so glad that we went and shared that tradition with family, it makes traditions even more special and fun to do it with extended family. I hope and pray that Hannah and Derek will follow this example when they are older and keep their families close with each other doing fun and spirtual things together as we enjoy doing now. Thanks in a VERY big way to my Mom and Dad who did the same for me and instilled the desire to have strong family bonds and relationships, to make sure that family is important in my children's life. They helped to make me love it by having such wonderful memories of my own when I was little do many of the same things that I do with my kids and my extended family and David's extended family. Jim and Rita (Grandpa and Grandma) also make it easy and quite fun to share with the their family. We always feel so welcome with them and after every visit we can't wait to see them and my family again! We are so lucky to have the job that I do so that we can focus on what is so important even when what is so important is so far away, and that is FAMILY. Thank you, thank you, thank you. We LOVE OUR FAMILY! Thank you so much for loving us!
Derek and Chase. Derek sure is good with little kids!
Everyone in the visitor center by the Salt Lake Temple. 
Hannah and Chase, she sure does love her little cousins and loves to help take care of them.
Micha, Derek, Hannah, Gavin and Tate in the Visitor Center. I am so grateful that my brother, Stuart and his wife want to keep traditions alive and to share family time together.
