12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS HEIDI STYLE

Does the 12 days of Christmas start on December 13th so that the 12th day is on Christmas Eve or on December 14th so that the 12th day is Christmas?  

Anyone?

Anyone?

Well it's my blog therefor we abide by my rules. 

December 13th it is.

This year I wanted to blog the 12 days of Christmas with Christmas memories, traditions, etc.  There will be a memory and/or tradition posted each day (thank heavens that blogger does scheduled posts) of myself, Clayton or both of us.

On the 1st day of Christmas...

Day # 1:

This one needs some back ground information

2008 was a rough year.  La-Z-boy announced the closure of the Tremonton plant in April.  With Clayton being in HR he was one of the very last employees to go in September of 2008.  He had searched and searched and searched and interviewed and interviewed and interviewed for jobs since the plant closure was announced back in April.  Clayton had always wanted to move back to Hawaii and there was no way I was going to distract from that goal/idea/thought/wish/dream.  In September we went to Hawaii for a 2 1/2 week stay during which he had some interviews lined up on the Big Island, Maui, and Oahu.  After 6 months of searching in Utah we went to Hawaii and got a job offer within 1 week of being there.  It was an HR job on the Big Island.  The pay was really good and benefits were amazing.  Once we got back to Oahu we attended the Laie Temple to pray about it.  There we received our answer to not take the job.  We obeyed the answer from the Lord and headed back to Utah.  A few weeks or so after we got back to Utah, Clayton received another offer from the job he applied for at the University of Hawaii.  Neither the pay or the hours were that great so we turned it down figuring that the lower pay and increase in living wouldn't be worth it for me to quit my job here.  So he continued to look ... and look ... and look ... and ... nothing.  I had an surprisingly easy job being able to keep a positive attitude during this time and to also give Clayton the support he needed.  By December he still hadn't found a job and I thought that the spirit that my most favorite holiday (CHRISTMAS) would bring would definitely give him the boost he needed.  Much to my surprise it was me who wasn't exactly feeling the Christmas Spirit.  I mentioned to him one night that I was having a hard time getting into the holly jollies that Christmas was supposed to bring.  When I came home that night this is what I found...

 Clayton had made little paper boxes and hung them on the tree.  I was to open one each day until Christmas.  I can't remember what they said (I wish I would have kept them), but I know that they were sweet messages from the man I love more than anything in the world.  The man who was going to an extremely difficult time, who didn't need the extra pressure to cheer up his wife.

One of my favorite presents on the tree was this one...

 He went into the room to get the present and when he came out this is what I saw!

He was a little embarrassed of this picture to I had to alter the face a bit.

I LOVED IT!

It was exactly the laugh I we needed. 

Being out of work that Christmas meant money was a little tighter than in previous years.  My favorite gift that year was a binder he made for me.  In that binder was letter addressed to me talking about all the ups and downs the past year had brought, how much he loved me and how much stronger this trial had made us as a couple.  He mentioned how he wanted us to keep binder as a family tradition.  Each year we would each write a letter about the past year.