Friday, December 31, 2010

Christmas At Last!

Christmas was lovely.
We worked really hard to make it that way.

Divorce & death have changed our holidays and in a very bad way. I was determined that the two ugly D's wouldn't run our Christmas anymore - and they didn't. Our Christmas rocked!

Christmas Eve started at 10 a.m. when my best friend, Nikki & her mom came over for french toast & gift exchange. Nikki's dad died last year and our families are miraculously alike (and our moms are both super awesome) so not only has our bond strengthened, but our moms hang out now too. Nikki & Judy are our best friends and it was so lovely to start the holiday out with a nice breakfast and our really great friends! 

After breakfast, we hurried up and got ready to go to our cousin's house because that's what we do every year. We only see these people once a year on Christmas Eve and even though my brother always thinks it's really awkward, I love it. More good food, more good family. What more could we ask for?

By the time we left our cousins house, we were super tired so we took a fast nap before church. 

Our church is really big, so we had 4 Christmas Eve services this year. We went to the first one, the kid's service. Holy Moly! It was hilariously adorable. It was a skit about throwing a birthday party for Jesus put on by K-4th graders. At one point, I was in tears laughing at an adorable little boy singing up front. It was so sweet to see the little kids all pumped about Christmas.

Drew's grandma has everyone over on Christmas Eve every year, and it's something I look forward to. The food is delicious and the people are fun and it almost always includes at least one game of Friends Scene it. Drew got me a really cute bracelet, some awesome workout pants and a sports bra that I really wanted. I loved it all! We decided that it would be a small christmas since we don't have much money and we're not technically together anyway. 

We matched!




His dad got a colts hat, obviously.

Since my family had already gone to church, I didn't join Drew's family at the midnight church service. Instead, I went home to wrap more presents and stuff stockings. By the time I crawled into bed, I was more than ready!
My brother got a really big gift (a MacBook Pro) from both of my parents for Christmas. Since the gift was from both of my parents, we invited my dad over to open presents Christmas morning too. It was so nice to have him there and for an hour or so, feel like our family was back together. 

I woke up to him making biscuits and gravy (probably why I'm not trying really hard to lose 5 pounds)


My brother, Kyle, never wakes up early on Christmas Day. For the last 2 years I've gone to other people's houses and come back before he's even been awake. Not this year! He was up really early & so of course, I had to document it.

 

Mornin Sunshine!

Santa had filled the stockings. And the opening began.









After opening presents & receiving way more than I should have, I got my clothes on & went over to Drew's to check out his presents. Together, we came back over to my house for my family dinner - homemade lasagna!


The night ended quietly with a fire rolling and Christmas lights gleaming. Our house was cozy and my heart was filled with love and gratefulness for the awesome family & friends we have and the first holiday that really felt great in a long time.






1 comment:

Megan said...

So glad you had such a wonderful Christmas! I love all the pictures and reading about your time with family and friends.