A Very Merry Christmas!

Christmas this year was pretty laid back and relaxed for us. Probably largely due to the fact that we didn't have to drive 8 hours to get "home" to celebrate with family. We are already "home". But since it isn't technically our home there wasn't a lot of pressure to decorate the entire house and get everything just right. Instead we put up the tree. Wrapped a few presents and called it good. Being 8 months pregnant definitely allowed me to lower my expectations of myself as well. All in all it was a recipe for a very nice Christmas.


First there was a little Christmas cookie baking and decorating. (Thanks to Grandma Donna! I definitely wasn't up to that task this year.)

And then a quick trip to the ZOO. Because clearly Christmas isn't complete without the zoo! We even brought our nephew & niece along...via Facetime.

 

I was attempting to get a picture of the intricate snowflakes,
but I think my belly stole the show!

There of course were a few last minute gifts to be finished...

Christmas Eve was spent "up north" with my side of the family. Lots of eating, chatting and just being together as a family. Charlotte and I snuck away with my dad and uncle to attend their Christmas Eve church service. I am so glad we did. It's my favorite church service of the year. We made it back in time to to play the dice game for white elephant gifts. Despite their best efforts our kids did NOT win the coveted white elephant. Aah shucks! Better luck next year.

 

Upside down Hannah...her newest trick!

Thanks to my aunt's creativity, before going to bed on Christmas Eve we sprinkled Reindeer Food on my cousin's driveway (so Santa could find us!). Well most of us sprinkled. One of us just dumped it in a pile and let the cat eat it.

 



And it worked! Santa found us. Don't be fooled...Isaiah was pleased with his present from Santa. He just couldn't open his eye all the way because of the corneal abrasion his littlest sister gifted him the evening before.

 



After a little driving we arrived back "home" to celebrate with Joe's family.

Santa ALMOST forgot the toilet paper,
but he snuck it in the stocking at the last minute! Phew.

 

 

To quote Isaiah it was "THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER". And I have to agree it was a fabulous Christmas. Definitely in my top 10 Christmases. And not just because we were spoiled rotten with gifts...trust me we were spoiled! The fact that it was low-key and relaxed was great too. But I think knowing that we may not be "home" for Christmas next year really allowed me to soak it all in and enjoy it. To appreciate this time with family. We have NO IDEA where we will be living a year from now. And we certainly don't know what Joe's schedule will look like. It may be a few years before we get this much family time again. All of the unknown in our future made the here and now all the sweeter. Of course opening up the tablet he wanted definitely sweetened the deal for Isaiah!

 

 

Family time continued over the weekend at Joe's grandparents' cabin. Which of course meant more gifts to open! See what I mean? Spoiled.

 

 

Typically Joe and I do not exchange gifts at Christmas. And this year was no exception. However on our drive home from the cabin we FINALLY agreed upon a first name for this baby boy. And that felt like the best gift ever! I love knowing who he is...even if I don't really know him yet. We have a name. Well a first name at least. And that's a pretty good start. My "gift" to Joe this year? Oh it was just me showing him a little grace as I watched him drop my beloved Pepsi on the side of the road and then open said Pepsi and spray/waste half of the Pepsi. And I do mean a little grace. Because I definitely had unkind words for him. Like "idiot" and "no common sense".  But I let him live. So grace was definitely shown...even if it was only because there were three small children watching the Great Pepsi Incident of 2014. I was proud of my restraint regardless. (Moral of the story: don't mess with my Pepsi!)