This has been a Christmas unlike any we have ever had before. It was the first time we have had snow on Christmas Day making for a true white Christmas.
It also is the first time we have ever been alone without family or friends on Christmas. We went out to the grocery store on Christmas Eve and then came home and spent a nice quiet evening here together. We did let the kids open their presents from Nana & Pawpaw Bray since they decided to go away and have some alone time this year instead of the BIG HUGE family Santa party they have done for over 20 years. We support this after the year our family has had it was nice for them to take a little time for themselves for a change. The kids loved their gifts they got and were excited to be able to stay up a little later and play with them.
This is unlike when we lived in Georgia with our family and friends around us.
Christmas Eve was always spent at my parent’s house with my sister and my brother and his family. We always were over early in the afternoon eating dad’s homemade vegetable soup for lunch. Then spending time together letting the cousins play together; opening presents. After that we went as a family to the candle light service at church. It was always a beautiful special time as we sang carols and heard the true, real meaning of Christmas. We shared the Lord’s Supper with our church family and then returned home to mom and dads for more homemade vegetable soup. The kids played some more than we all left to go home and get ready for Christmas the next morning.
This year it was very quiet just the 6 of us without any family or friends around.
This Christmas was also a first that we did not leave the house all day. We did not even get dressed, instead choosing to stay in our pajamas. It use to be spent between Mike’s family going to two different places and trying to spend time with everyone.
Mike made breakfast for all of us and then we took our time opening presents. The kids were able to stay at home and play with all the gifts they got and enjoy them. We were able to get all the ones put together that had to be done; batteries in the ones that needed it and then just sit back and watch them make LOTS of noise. They had fun and we all had a great time playing with each other and their new toys and being entertained by the kids as usual there were lots of laughs and giggles by all.
Of course, we made phone calls to our families and even skyped with some but it was not the same. In a way it was one of the best Christmas’s we have had in a long time and in the same way it was one of the hardest ones.
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