Merry Christmas-A summary from my house to yours

As I reflect on this holiday season I am over joyed with all the love, laughter, and good times I got to enjoy this year. To be honest I really wanted to skip Christmas this year. I was in the spirit of Jesus' birth, but the idea of traveling, getting schedules down pat, and making sure everyone was going to be happy just wasn't for me this year. Thankfully I was not able to let the season pass me by. For the first time in 3 years I put a tree. Lili enjoyed helping me and loved when I made the lights appear. (Now the fun part of taking it down!) Justin and I did most of our shopping in one trip way in late November. To bad we waited to wrap the presents. I enjoyed creating my students homemade gifts. We started off Christmas break with some easy going days. We had our first annual Christmas party and boat parade where we decorated a homemade boats and they floated around a pool.
I took Lili up to Atlanta on Wed. to spend extra time with her Grandma and Grandpa Carl. She had a blast. We went up on Friday for our annul  Stocking Stuffers. Lots of fun was had by all. Christmas Eve was easy going with my mom and step dad, my brother's family and my family. We enjoyed gift opening and watching the children. It really is all about the kiddos. Christmas day we drove back home to enjoy Christmas with Justin's family. I love that the extended family is so close. While I had some sad moments -we miss you Mema - it was a great time. We then went to Justin's parents to celebrate Christmas with his parents and brother's family. We let the girls open their gifts and enjoyed seeing what they got. We got home to discover more gifts under our tree for Lili bug. While we tried to encourage the concept that Santa is a tradition for some, my lovely 3 year old held on to the idea. We did sing happy birthday to Jesus and talked about the Christmas story with her.

So there it is. Now the day after Christmas we begin the clean up, looking over everything we got, and reflecting on the holiday. For us we will wait to clean up. We are headed to see my dad tomorrow in FL. Hoping for some nice weather to enjoy the sounds of the waves while I read and Lili plays in the sand. I hope to be able to relax and take time for myself before coming home to the day to day grind. Lili will think it's Christmas all over again! We are taking all of her My Little Pony sets with us, but the bulk of her new things will still be new when we get back.

I praise God for allowing me to spend time with family this Christmas. I am blessed way beyond human words and understanding with the love and gifts I received. I pray you had a great Christmas and were able to share it with the ones you love.