Yes, Christmas is over and my title is a Christmas song. I just can't let go of the Christmas songs yet, especially "O Come All Ye Faithful". It just reminds me how much praise our Father deserves! I hope each and every one of you enjoyed time with family this past week. Christmas is such a sweet time of fellowship for my family. I found myself just looking around and smiling at all the happy faces that filled that busy living room on Christmas eve. I have been blessed with one fantastic family.
I can't talk about my Christmas week without including this movie. This is THE most fantastic movie I've ever seen. The way C.S. Lewis incorporates Christ in this movie is pretty extraordinary. You'll have to check it out to see what I'm talking about!
We celebrated Christmas with my Dad's family on the 23rd and even though this is the only picture I managed to snap, I think it's one of the sweetest pictures I have. My Dad's sister and her family have been missionaries in India since January of 2010 and this is our first Christmas without them. We pulled up skype, connected it to the big screen, and pretended like they were there! We got to open some beautiful gifts from India and they opened our presents from America. It was such a sweet time for us. We got a rather exciting call from my aunt Christmas eve. I'm going to be a cousin again! We are so excited that they are having a sweet baby and we are so glad that they are getting to come home for Christmas next year. We will get to meet a new baby!
We spent Christmas eve with my Mom's family and had a blast. I captured a few more moments this day! Sorry for the stinky quality, I didn't take my Canon!
Silly little girls.
I'm so blessed to be apart of this family. We are so lucky to have these two as grandparents!
His smile sums up our time together.
Sweet Isabella showing off a southern favorite, Vera Bradley! We had such a great time eating together, laughing together, and tearing into presents together. I have been spoiled yet again!
Tyler and I decided that we have a few years before we have to figure out how to deal with holidays, so we both spent time with our own families. After we both finished with our activities on Christmas eve we went to church for our Christmas eve service. Since my family decided to stay home it was just the two of us, but it was such a sweet time. I love praising Jesus with this man!
After I got home from church, I decided that the puppies needed to have some Christmas pictures made.
I'm not sure if you've met my sweet dogs yet, so this is your chance to fall in love!
Bloggers, meet Bella.
Bella is our cocker spaniel that entered our family December of 2009. She has a lot of energy, but she's a very sweet girl. She gets so excited anytime someone comes in the house, but don't come in with stuff in your hands. She's a little chicken!
This is my puppy, Emma. I got her my sophomore year of high school and she's such a sweet dog. She loves to give kisses and cuddle.
She wasn't so sure about Bella at first...
Now they are best friends!
This is the little scrooge of the bunch, Elvis. We got him six years ago and he's become fat and lazy! He wouldn't even pose on the fireplace for me!
We went to sleep Christmas eve and woke up to a living room full of presents Christmas morning. Santa came! Until we all move out, my parents will continue to do "Santa" for us. It's such a special time for us!
This has been Santa's plate for as long as I can remember.
My Mom's pretty tree.
My parents stockings. They love them!
We are so blessed!
We always have brunch at my Nana's before we head off to see my Dad's extended family and it's always a fun time! Before Marilyn got married she spent Christmas eve with us and always helped my parents put together our Santa gifts. We have such fun Christmas memories with Aunt Marilyn!
Blessed. The over-used word for this post. I don't know another word that can even start to describe how I feel to be apart of this family. We have some crazy days, but we love big. I'm so glad that I can enjoy my days with them!
After we spent the day with my Dad's family we got to be lazy in our Christmas PJ's at home and enjoyed our time resting. Christmas day is always busy for us, so we enjoy winding down at the end of the day. I spent the evening and early morning hours of Sunday with Tyler and his family. We stayed warm by the fire and spent hours playing Scattergories. Tyler and I never won a round, but we had fun anyway!
I'm sad to see this Christmas season go, but I will have memories for a lifetime.
Once again, I'm blessed.
Until Next Time.
Keep Living. Learning. and Loving