I have to say I am a little embarrassed that I don’t have more pictures of Christmas day. We are busy, busy that day, and after the initial rush of opening gifts at home, I forget to snap pictures. We start our day at 6:00, not because the kids wake us up, but because the alarm goes off! We have to be up then so we can do our thing before we are off visiting family. At 8:00 (or as close as possible to that time) we left our house, all dressed up in new clothes that Santa brought, and packed tight with gifts to give to family. It was very slow going this year. We were hit with a big storm on Christmas Eve, and the roads were very icy. We got to my parents house at about 9:30, both my married sisters were there and my two punk brothers. We ate muffins and cinnamon buns (I made those at about 10:00 pm on Christmas Eve) and had orange juice. If you didn’t grow up in my house you wouldn’t understand how very special orange juice is, we NEVER had it growing up. We also opened gifts, and that was a lot of fun. I love going there in the morning when everybody is happy and fresh. The kids are still so excited, showing off what Santa brought (my girls get to pick one thing to take; they all brought their new dolls). We enjoyed each others company, and had a nice time. At about noon we all packed up and headed off to my grandma and grandpa’s house (aka Monga and G-pa), they are off on a mission this year, my sister is living in their house, and she graciously let the whole family come over for the traditional brunch. My mom comes from a family of 8, and almost everybody was there, it was a full house! Full, but so wonderful!!! I love seeing my family, my aunts and uncles and all the kids!!! There are 6 babies a year old and under! We had the traditional Christmas brunch: scones, scrambled eggs, sausage, and orange juice. Everything was almost perfect; I missed my G-pa’s annual “speech” and of course Monga’s special touch. All the families got a special gift from Monga and G-pa and the little kids exchanged gifts. The aunts and uncles all pooled their money and gave my punk brother money towards his mission. We had a nice visit and all the kids LOVED their gifts. We left a little after 2:00, my baby was very sleepy, and we needed to find a quiet place. As we were leaving I took a quick look at my brother. He will be leaving for two years on January 2nd, a little over a week. It hit me all the sudden that he really wasn’t going to be around next Christmas. I hugged him, for a long time, I am going to miss that boy! We headed up to my in-laws, where I put the baby down and punk #4 for naps. I also laid down myself, the night before I came down with the same bug that had been plaguing my zoo for the past week, and I wasn’t feeling so hot. I had a good long nap (thanks Mike and in-laws). We had a wonderful dinner; in mom-in-law’s sort of new dining room then after that we opened gifts. We hung out there until about 8:00, then packed our hyper punks up (waaaaaay too much sugar that day!!!) and headed home. We had a great day. I love seeing all the family. People ask me if I hate all the rushing and visiting and driving. I would say NO!! I LOVE IT!! I love the bustle and hustle, I love seeing everybody, and I love it all. I am so thankful for my abundant family!
I love the hustle and bustle too, that’s why all of “our” family traditions happen on Christmas Eve, so I can enjoy the running around and not being home on Christmas Day. We decided to do a “Homemade” Christmas next year. No one in the family will be allowed to give any gifts that weren’t homemade. I already have a list of things that I can make, so I can get started soon and not freak out on Nov. 3, when I realize I have less than two months, like I usually do. I’m hoping that that will help me be more prepared for Christmas early next year, so I can truely enjoy all the family get togethers!