Christmas Morning 2012

Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas from the Coltons

President Thomas S. Monson: "I know that it is the desire of each of us to make time in our lives and room in our hearts for our Savior. No matter how successful we have thus far been at accomplishing such a goal, however, I am confident we would all wish to do better. Now, this very Christmas season, is the perfect time to renew our efforts."

Click here to view one of my favorite Christmas songs.

Merry Christmas

Early Christmas at Zermatt

We spent the weekend at Zermatt with Luke, Ally, Maddie and Izzie. They traveled 30 hours from Perth, Australia. We had such a great time! We went swimming and had a birthday party for Izzie on Friday (she turned 3). On Saturday we went tubing at Soldier Hollow, went to storytime with Mrs. Claus and decorated cookies. Here are a few pictures of our fun, early Christmas.

'Tis the Season

Last night we attended the Festival of Trees at the Southtowne Exposition Center. We saw more than 800 decorated holiday trees. I am amazed at the creativity of some people. Two members of our decorated trees in honor of children they lost this past year. It was very heartwarming!

Some of Our Christmas 'Loot'

It's Not About Getting a Strike

We've had a relaxing Christmas and have just had fun being together. Today we went bowling. The boys are really hooked on bowling these days -- ever since they played it on my Ipod-Touch. They figure the real thing is better. It's quite entertaining to play with them. They get so excited about any pin they knock down. They could care less about getting a strike or a spare. Connor has been busy helping Kim shovel. He loves to be outside in the snow and doing whatever his Dad is doing. We have about eight inches of snow and it keeps coming. The boys also got Utah and BYU sweatshirts this year. They tease each other about which team is better. Nicole was happy to see the Utes were represented at our house this year! She stopped by Christmas night and brought them new DVDs (a Christmas collection of Looney Tunes, Tom & Jerry and Scooby Do). She certainly knows what they love. It was good to see her. We all miss seeing her every day.

Christmas Morning 2008

Nothing makes Christmas more happy than to experience the exitement of two little boys getting everything they wanted. Connor and Ian had a fun morning opening their gifts. They especially loved the surprise Santa left in the basement -- an inflatable bounce house. Connor had a lot of fun this morning with his new game, Mousetrap, and Ian is wearing his magician's costume and practicing his magic tricks for his afternoon show. It was a magical morning complete with a huge snowstorm.

Early Christmas gifts

Kathy let the boys open her Christmas gifts early. She got them three bags of megablocks. Ian is shown here with one of their castle creations. She is so creative and makes playing so much fun. She has been a tremendous blessing to our family.

Ian's Christmas program

Ian had his preschool Christmas program at the historic Draper Theatre on Wednesday. He wasn't feeling his best but he knew "the show must go on." He did a great job! He knew all the words and actions to all the songs. We are so proud of him. Ian has loved preschool this year and he especially loves his teacher, Miss Ashley (pictured above).

An inspiring evening

Last night Kim and I attended the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's annual Christmas concert "Ring Christmas Bells." We are huge fans of guest artist Brian Stokes Mitchell. We have seen him on Broadway and at the Kennedy Center. It was nice not to have to travel quite so far this time. Amidst all the high drama of getting in and out of the Conference Center, it was an inspiring evening. And it was nice to have an evening alone with Kim.

The highlight of the evening is when Brian sang "New Words." It was a wonderful reminder about the simple joys of life that can be found in words. It's a song about a father teaching his son his first words. Here are the lyrics:

New Words By Maury Yeston
Look up there high above us,
In a sky of blackest silk
See how round, like a cookie
See how white, as white as milk
Call it the "moon" my son Say "moon"
Sounds like your spoon, my son
Can you say it?
New word today
Say "moon"
Near the moon brightly turning
See the shining sparks of light
Each one new, each one burning
Through the darkness of the night
We call them "stars" my son
Say "stars"
That one is "Mars," my son
Can you say it?
New word today
Say "stars"
As they blink all around us
Playing starry-eyed games
Who would think it astounds us
Simply naming their names?
Turn your eyes from the skies now
Turn around and look at me
There's a light in my eyes now
And a word for what you see
We call it "love" my son
Say "love"
So hard to say my son
It gets harder
New words today
We'll learn to say
Learn "moon,"
Learn "stars,"
Learn "love."