.CHRISTMAS.

Yep...this is it. This is all the pictures I took on Christmas morning. What happened you ask? I have no idea. I just didn't take any. Maybe I was so wrapped up in what was going on that I just forgot. (Doug will probably not be very happy about this picture..sorry.)

The girls really like to help cook. Jillian was helping daddy make blueberry pancakes. And she had to put on her new tutu to do it.
~
Christmas was a little different for us this year. We certainly didn't go overboard with the presents and it was just quiet. The kids woke up around 5:45! Yikes. We were going to make them wait to open anything until we got back from a little visit to the local nursing homes. But that wasn't until 9. So we didn't want to torture them. After the presents were opened (which took all of about 10 minutes) we had some breakfast, got ready and headed out. My friend Rene has a tradition in her family to go caroling to the 2 nursing homes here in the area. So, we decided to join them this year. Along with about 10 other families. It was a really great experience. I have participated in things at nursing homes before, but to be there on Christmas day...very touching. I got pretty emotional. The kids really enjoyed it and asked if we were going to do it next year. I think we will. Thank you Rene for letting us be a part of it.
We got back home and just hung out. We didn't have any big plans and we didn't even really know what we were going to do for dinner. Which is just so different then other years. I will say that I missed my family terribly this year. With Doug's Mom and Dad being gone on their mission and of course with my Mom being so far away, I just felt very lonesome. After a while we decided to go visit the Lambert's. We got there and felt like party crashers. They, unlike us, had a ton of family over. But because we are like family, they insisted that we stay. We had a great time being with them but tried to not wear out our welcome (wait...I don't think that is possible).
We came back home and continued with more of the same. Although by this time we had received an invitation from Becki (Doug's sister) to come over for dinner. Doug's brother and his family were there also and it felt a little bit more like Christmas. The dinner was great and so was the company. Thanks for making me laugh Rob.
So, as different as Christmas was this year, it was still a good day. The kids didn't complain about what they didn't get. Which is good because I think that would have just made me cry. And they were thankful for what they did get! And so was I. I didn't get anything material-wise but I did get to have new experiences, tender moments and time with fantastic people, which are things I can keep forever.