Our 1st Christmas Together - Mr/Mrs

Keepsake Ornament I bought
Starting a tradition for our memory tree.
I will put the picture below in it.

What a wonderful Christmas!
Together with my children, my husband AND my mom...I had it all. Best gift I could ask for. Soo blessed.

I had to work a full day on Christmas Eve and then had a full evening planned. Missed Christmas Eve service at church to attend my sisters Christmas Eve Dinner, but she already suggested that I double up on Sunday to make up for it. After all, I need church. lol Trust me on that one. Oh...she just had an answer for every excuse I could give to not attend her gathering. It was kinda funny. Smart girl! So, I went with my family and mom in tow. Best gift I could give to my mom. We had a good time. My sisters husband went all out with the food, making YouTube videos about his preparations. It was so cute. He really is a nice guy.

He was working those antlers!

And Furman, well Furman knows how to make anywhere a party! Always has.
Party really doesn't start till he rolls through it. haha
Love my husband!
                                   

Me and Mom

Christmas morning when I woke up...I swear that Santa Claus had been to my home. I was shocked....because it wasn't me! We didn't get home from the Christmas Eve Dinner until the wee hours of the morning, so my daughter had stayed up to wrap gifts. God Bless Her!! I know she was tired because she didn't wake up until mid afternoon. lol We had to wait till everybody was awake to open gifts. In the meantime, Furman got right to it...baking pies and a lovely chocolate cake with buttercream icing. In light of our weekend for Furman's Christmas Surprise and Christmas Eve Dinner at my sisters, I really didn't have time to cook our own meal. That was ok though, because in the afternoon on Christmas Day we went to a dear friends home to have dinner with her family. Brought an apple pie and cake with us to dinner to share...but saved a cherry pie for home. Our friends children absolutely love Furman, calling him Uncle Furman to boot! They are a great family. Love them! Thank you for having us.

Anyways, opening gifts is always fun. This really was a year for me. My daughter completely spoiled me. She bought me a Persona (like Pandora) Charm Bracelet and started me off with a few charms that have meaning. She is so sentimental like myself. What a kid! Can't wait to collect other charms. Oh, and she got me an absolutely beautiful Bed in a Bag that I had wanted..after she figured out what a Bed in a Bag was. hahaha And I have to mention the hard work she put into getting something special made for me the family. She said she had taken notice that there really weren't enough photos of my son in the house...so she took measures to fix that.

Check it out!

"Grandma, I hope you enjoy this
money to do as you please, Love.."

Oh....but the absolute funniest moment on Christmas Day came from my mom opening her granddaughters gift. A box that even had me wondering what was inside. So..when it was my moms turn, she took to the tearing. lol
This is was she got (to the right).....that had us cracking up!  Had to high five my daughter for originality. My mom made off like a bandit with more money to add to the money we had already given her.


Like I already said...what a lovely Christmas! Thank you Lord.

Boxing Day...we went out as a family too! My son included which is rare, since he is a young man that has better things to do than hang with family. lol But yeah...we hit some stores and a very popular mall. It was crazy. Or as Furman was saying..."Absolutely Ridiculous. This is no sale!"  I know, I know. They jack up the prices before taking money off to really make you think you are getting something. lol Yeah..he made it clear he doesn't like Boxing Day shopping. Guess I will have to leave that to me and my daughter to do. lol She was on a mission. She knew what she wanted, and got it - pretty much. First store we went to cost a total of almost $600 and we hadn't even hit the mall yet. But we met up with some friends after we dropped off a new 32" television, and a PS3 Game system to go with the Xbox Kinect my daughter already had. Gheez! My daughter went crazy with the shopping this year. We were even able to help out a friend that we met at the mall later, which was great. My friend and her family were out shopping at the same time and we kept in contact via text message so that we could meet up. Well, it just turned out that something they were looking for was sold out where they were but just happened to be in stock where I was. lmao Was able to pick that electronic up for them and save them a bit of money on the taxes. But Furman and my son couldn't wait to get out of the mall. Oh man! The crowds really were crazy. Fights in the parking lot over parking spaces. When we were leaving, the lineup of cars still trying to get into the mall was hilarious. And I have always hated shopping on a regular day!

So now, i'm back at work. It may have been a Black Christmas but we certainly got snow today. Thank goodness a lot of people are off on holidays which made my drive to work manageable. I would have rather have stayed home...but of all nights, our furnace died last night so our house is quite chilly right now. lol Thanks to my daughter, my bed was really cozy. Then again, it usually is these days...I got Furman.

Well, Christmas may not have been what Furman is used to....but it's what i'm used to. And...it was awesome having him here to share in our Christmas madness. Now...to get ready to celebrate the New Year.  Hmmmm? What to do? What to do?

Before I end this post, I just want to say a sincere Thank You to my sister and her husband for including us in their Christmas Eve Dinner. With all that we've gone through the last 4 yrs I did not attend my sisters recent nuptials. So, being at her home for Christmas Eve Dinner was definitely not something I saw in the cards. But, God works in mysterious ways. I guess it was time. Moving forward - small steps. We can both say now that we have celebrated our first Christmas Eve with our husbands as Mr and Mrs - together. Much love to both of our husbands for their part in supporting and making this day possible for us all.
Sending my sister some love, and wishing her and her hubby all the best for 2013.