If you remember, Christmas 2010 was not good for my family. My Ma, my Mom’s mother, passed away about 2am last Christmas morning. Christmas is & has always been a big deal for my family. Ma loved Christmas & her Santas so in a sense, it was fitting for her to hang on with us until Christmas day. So I went into this holiday season feeling bittersweet. The trips & their 2012 arrival was a great happiness for Jason & I as well as my whole family this Christmas & also managed to shift sadness to some joy.
I rode down Friday, Christmas eve eve to Charlotte with my aunt & uncle. Friday day we enjoyed a quick lunch, opened birthday gifts {my aunt, Mom & I all have late Nov/early Dec bdays}, ran last minute shopping errands & I snuck off to enjoy Pinkberry with my buddy Sara. Friday night we gathered around my grandfather for dinner at his clubhouse then opened gifts as a family. There were a few tears but more smiles.
Mom, Dad & I traveled up I85 Christmas Eve to join my Dad’s parents & Jason at my parent’s house to continue our traditional Christmas celebration. Mom, Nana & I went to a packed house Christmas Eve church service where we sang by candlelight & were able to visit a little with old family friends.
We had a chill Christmas morning then my brother & new sister-in-law arrived with my “niece” Quinn while we were eating a pumpkin pancake bunch. We opened our stockings, then went upstairs to divide out gifts. Every year we swear we’re going to cut back. Mom & I kind of did this year but Nana & Beth have fun purchasing & wrapping up fun things & we were all once again spoiled! The trips are lucky ducks! Mom & Dad gave us all the loot we’d picked up from my triplet mom friend Jenny as well as some Pandora charms for me & tools for husband. Jason gave me a scentsy warmer & a gold & silver Pandora charm while I gave him a tool box organizer thing he wanted. Nana & Pawpaw gave us money as well as some clothes for us both. Beth & Steven went a little crazy with our buy buy baby registry & tiny baby things: the trips now have newborn-sized bear slippers, owl accessories, the frog bathtub pod, the newborn-to-toddler rocker {my bday gift} & a Baby Einstein entertainer.
While Beth & I napped & the guys watching the NBA games, Mom & Nana stepped up to make a delicious Christmas dinner complete with PW’s beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes, a lima bean casserole, pineapple casserole & a pumpkin soup to start. We switched things up & enjoyed an ice cream cake for dessert!
Even being 13 weeks pregnant didn’t stop me from joining Mom & Nana on our usual day-after-Christmas shopping trip. We got a later start but still found some deals at Crate & Barrel & Loft before enjoying a Cheesecake Factory lunch. We ventured to Target on our way back to their house where I picked up some containers for the baby clothes Jenny had gave us. I also got a phone call while we were out saying that the third crib had been lost from Walmart.com but we were able to make a quick stop on our way home to a Walmart off 95 & now we have all three cribs. I can only imagine the fun times Christmas 2012 will bring!
Hope you & your family had a wonderful Christmas holiday.
