Mr. and Mrs. Clause
And just like that, it's already over! We had a perfect first Christmas with Grayson and Hallie. The weeks before Christmas they were sleeping 5-7 hour stretches and I was starting to feel normal again, but 3 days before Hallie hit a growth spurt so we were back to waking a few times each night. So it was a perfectly, exhausting Christmas. I'm told next year will be even more fun and even more exhausting. I believe it.
We kicked off at the Thomas' annual family get-together. It's one of my favorite days of the year and is always made to be so special. This year times two! We shared our most impactful moments of the year, which was accompanied by lots of tears. In a year full of blessings beyond imagination, there were some scary moments in between. While I was on bed rest and in and out of the hospital, Andrea was treating Melonoma. She had several spots removed and tested. Thankfully, after surgery, none of the cancer had spread to lymphnodes or other areas. Praise God! Her doctor said the type of cancerous moles they found were extremely dangerous due to the fact that they often went undetected until it was too late. Again, Praise God she found these early while they were still treatable. Shortly after, Grayson and Hallie were born way too early, but by the grace of God, healthy and strong. We have so much to be thankful for as a family and are especially excited for Miss Olivia's arrival in June! Yes, Andrea and Josh are having a baby girl! After reflecting on a great year Grandpa asked Ryan to read the story of Jesus birth. Aaron said this was symbolic of him passing the torch and was a bit emotional for him as it was the first year Grandpa didn't read the story himself. We sang carols while Ryan played guitar and then played Dirta Santa with an especially sad bunch of gifts this year. As usual, Grandma went all out for the kids and the adults, swearing, like she does every year, it's the last time for the adults. Love her.
Mom, Mike and I went to Christmas Eve service early. As always, it is the perfect way to start of Christmas Eve, reminding us what we are truly celebrating. We missed Aaron, but he was home on daddy duty. I CANNOT wait for G&H to climb up on stage next year while Miss Janeene reads the Christmas story. It's already cuteness overload, but with my two littles I just might die.
After church, we left the babies with Mom and headed to the Clarks for dinner and gifts. It was great seeing the family, especially, Rob, Megan and Cade in town from Oregon. Never a dull moment and always lots of laughs. Johnny won the traditional game of CLR. We all act like the pot is like hitting the lotto, but in actuality it's about $40 give or take. Winning is fun either way. I just never seem to.
At home we watched Elf and exchanged gifts with Mom and Mike. Mom always makes everything so special, right down to our stockings. We hit the hay early and went to brunch at the in-laws. I'd venture to say, no one has a better breakfast than Karlos prepares. She goes all out and we eat like its out last meal. For dinner, Mom fixed a yummy tenderloin. Needless to say, we were completely wiped out after the festivities, but each part was so special to us as we celebrated our first Christmas with our blessings.
Next year we are going to have to little stinkers running around the Christmas tree and will see Christmas through new eyes, and as always, I can't wait.
My little Christmas sweeties.
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