Christmas Eve is probably my favorite day of the year.

The excitement in the air; the preparation, looking forward to that magical day.

Every year, wrapping gifts late into the night, and trying to make sure that everything would turn out perfect.

I miss the mornings when my children would wake up early, so excited to see if Santa came. The joy & laughter that filled our house.

I loved everything about it.

When I was growing up my mom & dad made sure us kids always had the best Christmas. Jay put a lump of coal in my stocking when I was 8 yrs. old. I cried because I thought Santa did it until my parents made Jay tell me it was from him. Waking up at 3 a.m. in Hurricane Utah, checking to see if Santa had come, only to see my dad downstairs preparing gifts and telling me to go back to bed before Santa showed up.

The wonderful days as a child going to grams house meeting all the cousins on Spanish Fork main street, I don’t know how we all fit in that house. My Aunt Arlenes laugh, with my dad while they were cracking jokes, Grandpa Jay happy with his beverage, the special presents, puca shells that we thought were so cool, Gram gave me a scrapbook one year, and wrote me a poem, I knew back then I would always make scrapbooks.

Every single Christmas day of my life has become even that much more meaningful and lovely as I grow through the years.

Letting go of the past, with my family, and now the fun of playing Santa when my kids were little.

And now it’s a new kind of fun, a different kind of fun, with no more playing Santa but with our grandson and spoiling him with the excitement he brings back to me full circle.

I am thankful for my life, my family, Pete & the children.

I am grateful that we all get to be together and I miss those so much that have moved on to a better place and look forward to being with all of them again.

I had fun with A I making pics with me & Pete.

Merry Christmas

Jayda Dawn