So I wrote a blog at the beginning of the Christmas season and I was so excited for this year's holiday season. I really did have a great time with my family but I will say it was extremely busy and this laid back girl who leans toward introversion was exhausted from all the events! I will say the advent Christmas countdown we did was a BIG hit. Ansley loved all of it. Also giving the girls there gifts was a lot of fun. I'm glad I waited until Christmas. ;)
The holiday travel started when Ansley got out of school at noon that Friday. We left almost immediately after that and drove to my brother's house to get his dog to take with us to my parents house while they were in Alabama. We got to my parent's that Friday evening. It was an ok trip but they seriously have got to do something on I 35W between the North exits 52 to 60. My exit is 60 and those last 8 miles take FOREVER!! During my traffic wait my friend Kathleen called and asked me to sing with her during the Christmas Eve service. The song she had chosen was Barlow Girl's Hallelujah Light Has Come and it is such a beautiful song. I was so honored to join her.
The main reason me and my girls went to my parents that weekend was to go to my cousin Aaron's wedding that Saturday. WELL you know things don't always go as planned... We were on our way to the wedding Saturday night all of us dressed up and looking fancy when about 20 minutes into our 1 hour drive we get a phone call from my aunt saying, "Where are yall". So the wedding we thought was at 6pm was at 3pm. Total bummer, but we did go ahead and go see the clean up crew. Everything seemed like it was an awesome wedding and we did get to see the Bride and Groom on their way out so I guess that's something.
Flexibility I guess is one worthwhile trait I possess. We had planned to be home early on Tuesday because Jay was gonna be gone MONDAY with the youth kids at six flags. Turns out because of weather they went on TUESDAY. So me and the girls stayed at my parents a little longer and left after lunch Tuesday and then stopped to visit my friend Christin in Fort Worth. It was fun to see her and her little girl, Lauren. I was blown away how grown up Lauren had gotten. Man, kids... they learn and grow up so fast. After we left there we drove a little further and stopped for dinner in Waco and finally got home around 7:30 or 8 Tuesday night.
Friday we got back in the car and drove to Burlison to my brother's house for our family Christmas. The video above is of Ansley and Ridgely telling the Christmas story. It was going well and we were all having a great time. THEN, Ansley brought a marker (that was supposed to stay upstairs) down to the kitchen and while she was slinging it around it leaked all over Rusty and Lesley's wall. Of course it was the red marker and so after a not so successful attempt to clean it off the wall they are gonna just have to paint over it if they haven't already. SORRY about that again. That is one of those things that only happen to kids at someone else's house. HA!
Saturday, my parents after spending the night at my brother's came down to our house and it turned out to be a life saver that they were there to help us that night. Since I had agreed to sing with Kathleen I had to be there early for sound check and what not. Jay had to do the power point and being on staff at the church has to show up early for everything. So I left after eating a quick dinner leaving everyone else at the table. Then while Jay got ready for the service my parents got themselves and both the girls ready. YAY for the grandparents!!! It was a great service though. My first ever Christmas Eve service to attend because we have always been at my Nanny's until this year on Christmas Eve. We had prepped Ansley for the Lord supper part and had the discussion about what it means and why we do it and that she wouldn't be participating yet but that hopefully one day she would. LOL It was so funny watching her from the stage. She kept looking at me like MOM, see ALL the other kids are doing it why can't I. HA I was trying to keep my composure watching her but she did good and I was very proud. Of course as soon as it was over she said, "Mom, I just wanted to take something. Everyone else took something!" Aww poor thing... she is so mistreated ;)
Christmas morning went pretty good. I was shocked that Ansley slept until like 8:30. I totally expected her to be up early because she's known to get up around 6:30 for no reason so with it being Christmas I thought she would be an early riser for sure. Don't get me wrong I completely appreciated the sleeping in. We had our Santa part of Christmas and cinnamon rolls and got ready for church again. Jay preached the Christmas morning service and I was so proud of him. He has grown so much in the public speaking area and although I wouldn't characterize it as a typical Christmas message it was one that needed to be shared. I thought it was a good morning. My parents left after lunch that day and we tried to start getting ready for our next phase of Christmas break.
On Tuesday we left after we got up to drive to Clovis. That drive is no fun, especially the last hour or so. The girls did ok, considering its like a 9 hour trip. Jay's brother is a basketball coach and we went to his games every night while we were there. His team ended up winning the tournament. They should be really good this year. When we did Christmas with the Reed family Jay's dad gave the girls things that were his grandmothers. They were really special and I was glad Ansley showed her appreciation for them. Both the girls got a doll that had been their great grandmothers that she played with when she was a girl. Ansley also got a cradle that was made by her great great grandfather for her great grandmother to sleep in as a baby. In Clovis the four of us all slept in the same room which meant no one got great sleep. It really wasn't too bad though. It was good to spend time with Jay's family. We hadn't been all together since Pam passed away so we enjoyed our time there.
We came home kinda late on Friday. I was glad we came home Friday because we had Saturday to just relax before New Years Eve, not that we did anything exciting. Anyway, I had a good holiday season although it wasn't exactly as I expected. I'm not really sure what I expected, but I knew it would be different, kind of a start of a new phase in life I guess. I know that this year I am fully aware of all the blessings God has given me and I am thankful for all the ways he takes care of me.
