This Christmas season has been a marathon for Tyler and me. It was our first married Christmas, and although it was hectic and exhausting, we loved every minute of it! We knew we would be traveling a lot on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so we decided to celebrate together on Christmas Adam (for y'all that haven't heard of this, it is the day before Christmas Eve because Adam comes before Eve). Tyler had to work that day, but it was his last work day of the year! I cooked us a huge dinner: steak, baked potatoes, sautéed peppers, THE mac and cheese (similar version to what I cooked on Thanksgiving), cheese bread, and an apple pie for dessert. I didn't get pictures of the dinner because I was running around like crazy trying to prepare everything before he got home. We used our Christmas dishes which made me very happy to finally put them to use! It is fun to think we are starting our own Christmas traditions now!
Of course we had initially planned on exchanging gifts after our dinner, but neither of us could wait that long. We ended up opening them a few days ahead of schedule. I knew Tyler would want to use what I bought him right away, and if I gave it to him on Christmas Adam, he would have to wait two whole days before he could use it. I just didn't want to put him through that torture LOL Ever since I can remember, Tyler has been talking about wanting a new Xbox. He had the 360, but the newer one had several features the 360 didn't have. I finally got it for him for Christmas, and he was so excited! My family got him some new games to play too! Yesterday he played all. day. long. He absolutely loves it! Scruffy got him a few little things too!
I knew what I was getting from Tyler because I picked it out. We went to Sheila Bayes, a local jewelry store and the place Tyler bought my wedding ring, to get me a signet ring. It is a small pinky ring that has my monogram engraved on it. Some signet rings have family crests on them, but considering I don't have a family crest, a monogram will have to suffice! LOL I only picked out the design of the ring and got sized for it, so I hadn't seen the finished product until I opened up the gift. It was so small and elegant - just what I wanted! I love it! Tyler also surprised me with a gorgeous Sail to Sable tweed coat I had been eyeing. When Kelly came to visit, we went to Country Club Prep and browsed. I only mentioned the coat once and said how pretty I thought it was. Little did I know, Tyler went back to the store and got it for me. How sweet! I was so so so surprised because I never dreamed he got me anything other than the ring. He is so thoughtful. He made sure I had a great Christmas!
On Christmas Eve, we got up bright and early to start our journey to the first of six houses. You read that right. Six. LOL We left Lex around nine that morning and arrived at Mo and Poppy's house (Tyler's grandparents) at 11:30. They had prime rib, green beans, peas, corn, loaded mashed potatoes, and several desserts. Everything was so good! Probably the most exciting thing that happened during that visit was me shooting a gun for the first time. Tyler insisted that I try it, so he and Poppy took me outside to give it a try. Lucky for y'all, Tyler took a picture. LOL At the time, I knew I had to look comical. I had on pink Lilly Pulitzer from head to toe, and there I stood outside in my sparkly gold flats holding a gun. When Tyler handed me the gun, he thought I would dilly dally around, but I didn't. I grabbed it, pointed it toward the hillside, turned my head, closed my eyes, and pulled the trigger! LOL Immediately after I told him to take it out of my hands. It made me so nervous! I'm glad I can say I've done it, but I don't have a desire to do it again. LOL
After visiting Mo and Poppy, we headed to Man, WV! We went to my maw maw and pawpaw's house first to spend time with my mom's side of the family. Mawmaw had prime rib, turkey, mashed potatoes, broccoli casserole, dressing, cranberry sauce, rolls, seven layer salad, macaroni salad, and several different pies for dessert. We had a little bit of everything! After we ate and visited for awhile, it was time to open presents! I loved getting to spend time with them. On Thanksgiving Day, I was in Lexington with Tyler's family, and my cousin Emilee was in Alabama. My mom's side of the family still got together for Thanksgiving dinner, but it was the first time some of the grandkids weren't there. I was so glad that we were all able to be together on Christmas. It always feels so good to spend time with people you love and share stories and lots of laughs!
After going to my maw maw's, we went to my grandmother's house. Gran had hors d'oeuvres, shrimp cocktail, and her famous punch. The hors d'oeuvres she makes are a family favorite that my pawpaw Peanut (my dad's dad) used to make. They are delicious! I always think of him when she makes them. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see my cousins Taylor and Erick while we were at my grandmother's. We saw them for a bit before we went to my maw maw's house though. Now that Taylor and I are married, it is getting harder and harder to get everyone together at the same time. We both have so many different places we have to be. She will be having her sweet baby soon, and I will go home to be with her for that. We will be able to get lots of quality time in then! We exchanged gifts with my gran and had a really good visit. Kelly got my gran a gag gift that she had been wanting for a long time, so we all had a good laugh out of that. Gran got some clothes and jewelry too. My mom got her a really sweet gift - a framed picture of the whole family on my parents' wedding day. Grandmother had been wanting to get it blown up and framed for a long time, and mom surprised her with it. She was so happy about it that she cried. It was really sweet! Gran completed the set of my Christmas dishes for me, and I was ecstatic about it! I get my love of dishes from her!
My family always opens gifts on Christmas Eve night after we've been to our grandparents' houses. We got so many awesome things. My mom ALWAYS makes sure we have a great Christmas. She tries to get all the things on our wish list plus a few surprises. Now that I have been buying for everyone too, I realize how stressful it can be to get the perfect gifts for others. Mom is a pro at it now! She always worries if she got people what they like/want, but I have never been disappointed! She doesn't give herself enough credit! I just love to buy for my parents and sister. I get just as excited to watch them open gifts I got them as I do to open gifts for myself! On Christmas morning, my mom cooked a big breakfast - bacon, gravy, biscuits, fried apples, eggs, and fried potatoes- YUM! We ate on Christmas dishes of course and enjoyed the last bit of our time together. Santa had filled our stocking the night before with lots of goodies! It is a tradition in my family for everyone to go to the movies together on Christmas night. This is the first year I've missed it, and of course I cried on our way back to Lexington. I am a creature of habit and don't adjust well to change - obviously LOL
After spending Christmas morning at my parents' house, we loaded up the sleigh, I mean car, and headed to Boone county to see Kip's side of the family. Being in Boone is like being in my hometown, and I always love getting to visit Kip's family. They had so much food there! Everything was delicious! The guys all sat together and talked and the girls did the same. I got to catch up with Noelle and Brooke which was long overdue! We had lots of laughs that day. It was a really good visit! Barbara, Kip's mom, got me a beautiful bundt pan and display from Temptations. It is beautiful! It is the red floral lace pattern. My aunt Michelle and I had just been talking about how much we love Temptations serve ware, and then Barbara got me my first piece! She may or may not have started a new obsession for me to collect LOL
Around 4:30 we began the three hour drive from Boone back to Lexington. Of course it was pouring the rain the entire way home. We listened to Christmas music the whole way back so I could really soak up the last few hours of Christmas! We didn't get back to Lexington until a little after 8:00, but we had to wait on Tyler's parents to get home so we could do Christmas at their house. Around 9:15 they made it back, and we went over there for our last stop. Rhonda always gets me great gifts! I got lots of new clothes and shoes! She also got me a book from Southern Living full of menus and tablescapes for various events like Easter, baby showers, Christmas, etc. I love it! We opened gifts and watched a bit of Christmas Vacation before heading back to our house. We finally got home around 11:30 that night. To say we were exhausted would be a huge understatement! We loved getting to visit with everyone, but all the traveling wore us out!
Things are starting to get back to normal now. Yesterday we took a "mental health" day and did absolutely nothing. We slept in, grabbed pizza with Andrew and Sara, then came home to do some serious gaming LOL Tyler played on his Xbox while I played Sims. Yes, I'm still playing Sims! LOL Now that we are back into the swing of things, I plan on deep cleaning our house. Since I'm still on Christmas break, I have lots of free time on my hands, so I'm going to try to be productive! We are going to take down the decorations, and then I'm going to "spring clean" the house. Y'all, I'm talking wipe down the walls and baseboards - serious cleaning LOL
I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! Spending time with loved ones is such a blessing especially when you don't get to see them as often as you would like. Tyler and I got so many wonderful gifts from our families. We are very fortunate! These things are great aspects of this holiday, but we all have to remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. God gave us the greatest gift of all when he sent his son to die to save us from our sins. On Christmas we celebrate the birth of our Savior!
"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." - Luke 2:11
