Ends and Beginnings

Posted by Jordan and Jaicee

Well, just to bring closure to the last year, a few words about Christmas: Naivie was old enough this year to really get excited about the decorations, the lights, the snow, and the candy that preceded the Holiday. It was so much fun for us to drive around town and listen to Naivie screaming "Christmas Lights!" (or, as she pronounced it "Kimas Yaights!") and giggling elatedly while she clapped her hands and kicked her legs with unabashed delight. It really brought back the excitement of being a child at Christmas time and made this Holiday Season more fun for Jaicee and me than it has been since we were children ourselves! Norah, of course, now nine months old, still had no clue what was going on.

Both of the children, however, were terrified of Santa Claus.

Every year Santa comes and makes a special visit to the Ross house in Willard for Naomie's birthday (Jaicee's little sister). Mom and Dad Ross somehow got a special hook up with the North Pole. Well, the second he arrived, Ho-ho-hoing and jangling his jingle bells, the girls were on defensive alert.

Naivie soon figured out what was going on with everyone sitting on Santa's lap, and wouldn't even let Jaicee hold her because she correctly assumed that her own mother would betray her and thrust her into the awful grasp of that faceless, bearded monster. Aunt Lisa barely got her to take a candycane from the Man in Red, but not without trembling and an anxiety-filled whine.

Norah was about the same.

Maybe next year Naivie will put it together that Santa is the one who brings the presents and give him a second chance. We wish that we had just pushed them into Santa's lap anyway, so that we could have a picture like the one's in this book we saw at the store, Scared of Santa. (Pretty funny book, by the way.)

Both of the girls certainly had fun opening presents on Christmas morning. We had originally planned to have our own Christmas morning at our house in Logan. It was fun last year to start our own Christmas Eve and Christmas morning traditions, even though Naivie was only 11 months old. So, the plan was to have Christmas morning at our house then drive to Moab to spend a few days with Jordan's parents down there.

But God, knowing that we don't have snow tires or four wheel drive, and forseeing the snowstorm that would bury most of the road we would travel on Christmas Day, inspired Jordan's dad to call and convince us to come down on Christmas Eve. SO, with a distinct sense of urgency, we packed, threw all of the presents in the car, and headed down within a couple of hours. Good thing, too. Looking at the news on Christmas Day, we are certain--absolutely certain--that we would not have made it to Moab without incident, if we had made it at all.

So, Christmas Morning was in Moab, and the entire Knutson family was there (with the exception of Brennan, who is still serving faithfully on his mission in New York). It was a riot!


One of the best presents this year was to find out that not only is Sheri pregnant, but Sarah is expecting as well! WAHOO!!! Hooray for more cousins! Grandma Merrie will have five Grandkids by the end of 2009. Family reunions are just getting better and better!

So, with that, we wrap up 2008. It was an eventful year for our family. We had both trials and blessings this year. Thankfully, more of the latter to help us overcome the former. We must acknowledge that God is always mindful of us, and has always taken care of our family as he carries out His will. We are grateful.
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