We decided to spend Christmas here at home for the first time since we got married. I was a little nervous since I had never hosted a major holiday, but it all worked out pretty well. Since the kids are getting older, we wanted to start our own Christmas traditions. Fortunately, it was Chris’ family’s turn so they could make the short drive up from Birmingham to be with us right before Christmas, then be back at their house for the actual day. They arrived Friday night and we had a big dinner of ham, sweet potato casserole, asparagus and salad. Caroline had a blast playing “football” with her uncle Will:
Then Saturday, we drove by the old house to see how reconstruction was coming. A bunch of the workmen were painting so we couldn’t go in, but Chris peeked in the window. It’s scheduled to be done mid-January so it’s coming along! Then that afternoon during the kids’ naps, the girls and I did some shopping, then we came home and got ready for dinner. We had a babysitter come so we could all go out to a nice dinner. We wanted to see a movie afterwards, but his family had seen all the good ones that were playing, so we did some more shopping instead! It was cold, but we had fun looking around without the kids.
The next day was Sunday, so we all went to church and then came home, took some pictures, and had a big lunch.
That night we decided to brave the Galaxy of Lights at the Botanical Gardens. It was super crowded, but once we got off the main road, there were lots of preliminary lights to keep you occupied for an hour before the actual entrance. We were in the car for over 2 hours, but the kids did pretty well, especially since we were able to let them out of their carseats to see the lights.
Monday was Christmas Eve so we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast then opened presents. The kids had fun opening their gifts and playing with all their new toys!
After presents we fixed a huge meal of beef tenderloin, dressing, potato casserole, green bean casserole, salad, fruit salad, and of course, dessert - it was a huge spread! I failed to get a picture of all of it, but here’s the meat:
Chris’ family left after lunch, and we all took naps. Then we went to our church’s Christmas Eve service. We sang carols, heard the sermon, took communion, then sang by candlelight. It was so nice and a special reminder of why we celebrate Christmas – Jesus’ birth!
The kids had fun afterwards playing with their new toys:
The next day was Christmas so it was on to Round 2! We had saved the gifts from us and my family, so it was fun to have another gift-opening session with just the 4 of us. The kids got another big load of toys and we had a good time hanging out that morning.
Then that night we had a little get-together over at a friend’s house and the kids had fun getting out and playing with different kids (and toys, ha!):
Happy Birthday, Jesus! We’re so glad you came to save us! I hope our kids will always know the true meaning of CHRISTmas!
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