Our Attempt At An Early Christmas

We decided days ago that since we were going to kangaroo island for Christmas we would have an early Christmas here and open all the presents and have our fancy breakfast and cook a great meal etc... here. We won't have a kitchen in our hotel there so it was just easier. WELL...we went to all the trouble to talk to our elf on the shelf, Freddie, and have him arainge it with Santa. He said that Santa would be in AU on Wed. anyway and could deliver that night after the kids had gone to bed. We were pretty excited about this especially the kids.

So then Monday night was when Ethne got sick but then we werent worried because she was better after throwing up for 6.5 hours. Everything seemed ok on Tuesday so all was on schedule. Then at 4am as you may have read Ezra and I were terribly ill and an hour later Enoch was throwing up. But we thought-hey maybe we will all get better as fast as Ethne had. But by really late on Wed. night the kids had put out their pjs to be filled (in place of stockings which aren't here) and so we were kind of stuck to our early Christmas plan even though we were all still terribly Sick. By this point Garrett was in bed sick and I was left on my own to put out Christmas. I was so sick I almost cried as I half heatedly placed the ugly mangled packages under the tree. Everything must have been smashed in the sleigh that night because you would think they had been wrapped and then placed in suitcases and flown half way around the world...oh wait...

Anyway, I usually love to have beautifully wrapped packages with bows and tags etc...under the tree. I like to have everything look as perfect as possible for a magical experience. This year we have no tree, no lights, no anything around that looks like Christmas or feels like Chrismas. No nativity or picture of Christ-nothing. So I put blankets on our gross couches in this hotel/apartment so we could actually sit on them (we don't sit on them cause they are yucky)and I placed the ugly mangled packages on them for the kids to find. I hadn't wrapped Garrett's main gift but I was too sick to care so I went to bed hoping we would all magically be better in the morning.

We all slept in late from the sickness and then the kids came to get us up and were chattering about the stockings and gifts. Garrett was a total grinch from his head hurting so badly and he had me get him some ear plugs so he could roll over and be present while the kids each opened one gift. They picked one out and came up to his bed and he endured them for a short period and then we all went downstairs and left him to go back to sleep. I was actually able to get out of bed and Enoch was feeling much better. Ezra was still pale and sickly. He kept saying the smell of the chocolate and cookies in his stocking made him sick so I put it all away. He also didn't want to walk anywhere or do anything. He was a foot away from his Christmas packages and had to have each one handed to him so he didn't have to move :(

We didn't have our Christmas breakfast or lunch or dinner since no one could eat and it just didn't feel much like Christmas. These are the kinds of stories you read about in the Ensign magazine where they talk about how spiritual and wonderful the Chrismas was because they focused on the things that were spiritual and the real purpose of the holiday. I wish I had a story like at for each of you but unfortunately that isn't what happened. We opened the gifts when G was finally able to come down but we didn't read the Christmas story and we didn't do anything except clean up throw-up, lay around and sleep :(

We just prayed that by the 25th when it was really Christmas we would be able to focus on Christ and have a wonderful day.

But if not, there's always next year right?