The Christmas Post

What a wonderful Christmas we had! I know it's been a month now, but, for posterity's sake, I'm still going to blog about it!

Nate and I got each other book cases for Christmas. It was the BEST present! Now, the office is WAY more organized! And that makes me happy! I love it! Thank you Natey!

Christmas Eve
We were fortunate enough to get to spend Christmas Eve with friends who are like family to us. We enjoyed a Honduran feast and delightful company over at the Andrews' house (along with the Griffins & Xelas sister Mandy & her family).
An interesting side note: I'm starting to notice a theme with my holiday posts this year (have you noticed it too?) Let me clarify...Halloween? (at the Andrews' for dinner) Thanksgiving? (at the Andrews') Christmas Eve? (also at the Andrews') See what I mean? What wonderful friends we have!

The elephant gift exchange was a delight as well.

It was a memorable night and we all quite enjoyed it!


Christmas morning was so exciting. It was our first one as our own little, intimate family. The kids called for us when they woke up, we went up and they brushed hair & teeth, then came down, one by one (while Daddy had the camera on them) to discover that Santa had definitely come! A true highlight was Santa leaving a letter for each of the girls, tucked inside the tree branches, sending them on a mini-scavenger hunt for their "big ticket" presents. Julia was the one who spotted them in the tree! I'm so glad she did!
Julia had asked for a 50-inch cheetah and Lili, a talking princess kitchen. I guess Santa didn't want to give it away, right off the bat. The girls loved it! Julia's was in the office (the hint on her letter read that it was in "the cleanest room in the house" - since we had just organized the office with our new bookshelves, it sure fit the bill!) - and Lili's was in the laundry room (her hint read that it was "in the room where our clothes get very, very clean). They both found theirs easily, but did it one at a time, so they could be there for each other. It was darling!

Since we were leaving the next morning early to drive to South Carolina, we decided to go ahead and take down the tree. Yes, it was kind of sad to do it on Christmas day, but the tree was so dead! It really needed to come down. Can you imagine what it would have looked like if we had waited another week? See what the area looked like after Nate took off all the decorations and lights? Yikes! I had the task of sorting/putting away the ornaments he left for me on the couch.

You know what works well for a whole lot of little branches and needles? A shop vac! Good thinking Nate!

Since we had such a fantastic feast on Christmas eve, we thought a big, yummy breakfast was just right for our Christmas day. It was delish! I made that baked blueberry pecan French toast again. A big hit, since it's Nate's favorite breakfast! We were full the rest of the day! The kids had peanut butter pancakes. Well, except Simon, who only ate bacon and fruit.

The next morning, we hit the road. We had a bit of a rough go of it at first. We had wanted to leave at 8:00 am. We didn't leave until almost 11:00 am. Oops. Once we finally got on the road, we had to go back to the house because we forgot something. I can't remember what it was right now. (Obviously it's easy to forget.) Then, we got on the road once more, but had to pull right back off again because Julia (there's really no way to put this delicately, but I'll try) got car sick.
Thank goodness I had given her a Ziplock bag. And, she has good aim. So, we finally, officially, hit the road by noon. We drove straight (taking stops as needed for gas, bathroom, and our one "big one" for dinner - at Applebees). We got in at 6:00 am SC time. Yeah, it was a long night, but everyone did great. Truly they did. What troopers!

Since they knew we were coming in right after Christmas, my family delayed theirs and we had another "Christmas morning" on the Sunday following the actual day. Of course, we all enjoyed that!

We had a lot of fun visiting with my family. The kids had the best time playing out in their very big yard, feeding the horses, swinging, and just hanging out with Grandma and PaPa. Thank you Mom, Dad, Kara and Andrew! It was so wonderful to get to be with all of you!

I'm also so glad my friend Kristin, and her daughter Alice, came over from Charleston to visit with us. She spent one whole day with us. We played games, talked, laughed (ate my Dad's pizza), and watched Simon and Alice enjoy each other. It was like the "old days." I loved it! Thank you Kristin!

Of course, I HAVE to post about the food! :) Christmas dinner, pies, Kara's lumpia, Dad's pizza, and (although I didn't get a picture of this) our traditional Christmas eve shrimp boil. All yummy! And, by the way, did I mention that my Mom had just had a full knee replacement a month before! She's amazing! Thanks everyone!

What a joyful time of year. I'm sad it's over, but I'm so glad we got to go home this year. It was a blessing that it worked out we were able to go there this year. My 93-year-old grandma, who lives with my family, is not doing very well right now. In fact, we weren't sure she was going to live long enough for us to see her. But, thankfully, she did. I'm so glad I got to spend some time with her. It was hard to say goodbye, because I'm sure it will be the last time I see her (in this life).

I love you Grandma!

{she's still holding on for now, thanks to my Dad, who takes such wonderful care of her! What a shining example you are for being the best son, Dad!}