On Monday I drove to Jana's house to (finally) spend some time with her and the girls. I told Ella-Ann we were going there that morning, had I told her earlier she wouldn't have slept the night before, and she started jumping up and down and squealing! She was SO happy to get to see her best friend! I went even further and told her that she was going to spend the night with her that night and boy was she even more pumped! We arrived that morning and Ella-Ann and Mara Kate went directly to Mara Kate's bedroom, shut the door and only came out if they needed something. Jana and I enjoyed catching up and Rane was a trooper since he was the only male and wasn't allowed in to play with the girls! Ella-Ann did great spending the night and I met Jana Tuesday morning to pick her up. Needless to say, Ella-Ann was not happy whatsoever to be going home.
Tuesday and Wednesday were filled with last minute errands, finishing up wrapping presents and cleaning my house. I started feeling bad on Tuesday afternoon and by Wednesday I had a full blown nasty, nasty cold thanks to Rane. This was not a good start to the Christmas holiday, to say the least. I couldn't stop coughing, my head was ready to explode and I couldn't taste anything.
My parents drove down Wednesday night but they didn't come over to our house (they stay in a hotel near us) until Thursday morning. The kids were so excited to see them and vice versa! We unloaded their car and our tree was complete! Lots of pretty presents for Rane to get into! We went out for lunch and laid low at the house all day. Spencer and I went to Atlantic Station and we were going to see "Tron" or grab dinner but both of us felt so bad that we just went to H&M and grabbed coffee. It was still nice to get out, just us two, before the baby arrives.
On Christmas Eve we let the kids open one gift. I made sure Rane opened his Dyson vacuum and Ella-Ann opened the game "Guess Who." We all took turns playing the game with her all day long...she loved it! Rane was all about his vacuum and I don't think he turned it off all day! I was feeling really bad still and hadn't slept at all since I came down with the cold so I was no fun that day, really I was no fun the entire Christmas holiday and just wanted to get a good night's sleep but sleep was elusive the entire week, as was my sense of taste. Mom and I made our usual Christmas Eve appetizer spread for an early dinner that day and according to everyone else, the food was great! I couldn't taste a single thing and was so so so mad that I couldn't even taste the amazing homemade red velvet cake that my parents had brought down (red velvet is my absolute favorite)! Ella-Ann and I also baked cookies for Santa that afternoon.
That evening after the kids went to bed the elves got busy in the living room assembling the kids gifts from Santa. Ella-Ann received a new bike since she had outgrown her old one and Cinderella's Castle complete with all the princesses and princes. Rane got Lucky the horse (a bouncing, soft horse that talks and sings) and a Toy Story ATV. Our stockings were overflowing with lots of fun stuff from Santa and since I had been sleeping on the couch I had even more trouble sleeping since I was sitting there staring at all the fun gifts for the kids and couldn't wait for Christmas morning!
My parents got up super early in order to be at our house by 7 a.m. when the kids woke up Christmas morning. We let them out of their cages, I mean rooms, as soon as my parents walked in the door and they went racing to the living room. They were so excited about their gifts from Santa and both of them went right to work on their stockings! Stockings are my favorite part of Christmas with my parents because they are filled with fun things, and stuff Spencer and I actually need, and Mom and Dad do a great job with them. After we ate breakfast casserole and a new kind of monkey bread that I had made we started tearing into the presents since Ella-Ann could wait no longer! We were finished with everything by 8:30 a.m. and Ella-Ann was on her new bike circling the house, Rane was all over the place and into his stuff and Ella-Ann's, Dad and Spencer were helping the kids and Mom and I were cleaning up. We decided to go to our church's Christmas Day service that morning, which was very special to Spencer and I. It was less than an hour and was very kid friendly, which was a good thing because Rane had developed another cold so he would've had to stay with us anyway in the sanctuary. Ella-Ann, for the first time, sat down front with all the kids and listened to Paul, our pastor, speak about Jesus and the true meaning of Christmas. It was great!
We came home and ate our leftover appetizers for lunch and pretty much played all day with the kids. I felt the absolute worst on Christmas Day, which was quite a bummer, but I still had fun watching Ella-Ann and Rane play and have such a good time with their Mimi and Grandpa. Mom and I prepared our traditional Christmas Day dinner and we all ate very well that night. We ate by candlelight, which was so fun for the kids, and enjoyed our time together as a family around the table. Before dinner we opened our "Thankful" jars that we had been contributing to all year. This is a tradition I started last year at Thanksgiving and my parents loved it so much they wanted their own Thankful jar at their house this year. Since we were not together over Thanksgiving this year we opened our jars at Christmas. The Thankful jar sits in the kitchen all year with strips of paper and a pen in front of it. Whenever we are feeling thankful or think of something to write, we write it down on a strip of paper and deposit it in the jar. People who come to our houses also participate so it's fun to read what our friends are thankful for as well! We dumped all the paper out into a huge bowl and Mom and I read them. Some are sweet, some are super funny, some are very meaningful and others bring a tear to our eyes. Ella-Ann really gets into it and often contributes to the jar throughout the year and by the end of this year she was writing her own "blessings" with help from Spencer and I. It is fun to look back over the last year at things we are thankful for and how much our family is blessed beyond measure. Opening our jars was my favorite part of the entire Christmas holiday. On a side note, while we were reading from the jars one of us asked Rane what he was thankful for and what does he say? "Poop!" Ohhh I thought Ella-Ann was going to wet her pants she was laughing so hard....of course, 5-year-old humor is all about the potty. It was hilarious!
After dinner that night we all loaded up in the van and took a tour around the Virginia-Highlands to look at Christmas lights. Ella-Ann loved it and I thought Rane was going to blow a gasket with all of his excitement! It was so fun! Needless to say, the kids went down for bed without a fight that night and the adults retired early as well.
My parents left early Sunday morning but it was an easy goodbye since we know we will see them very soon! We had such a wonderful Christmas this year and I family is blessed beyond belief. We have so much to be thankful for and I am glad we really focused on that this year...not just on Christmas Day but this entire month. Thanks Mom and Dad for spending yet another Christmas down south since I couldn't travel and all that you did for our family. We love you!
I took a lot of pictures so click HERE to view them.
Anna-Kate and Ella Ann ready to sing at church Sunday night.
Playing dress up at Mara Kate's house, their favorite thing to do together.
Dad played with Ella-Ann's Tinkerbell doll and all her little dress up stuff every single day with Ella-Ann and he would make up these silly stories which made Ella-Ann's day! She would get the biggest kick out of his silliness and was obviously the only one who appreciated it!
I took this picture at like 5 a.m. Christmas Eve. Since I was sleeping on the couch, or I should say just laying there not sleeping all night, I really enjoyed being alone and looking at the tree and how pretty it was while sipping coffee in the early morning hours.
Mom was vacuuming with my Dyson and Rane was right on her tail with his!
Christmas morning.
"Look! Santa ate his cookies and the reindeer at their carrots!"
This was right before we left for church Christmas morning. She did not want to get off the bike!
Ready to read from the thankful jars!
1 comment:
Glad you guys had a good Christmas and so sorry you were sick! I love the Thankful Jar idea and just might steal it from you :)
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