Monday, December 29, 2014

Christmas Recap: Wrapped for Another Year

Christmas is over and done with for another year. How did that happen?

There is so much hype leading up to Christmas. Shopping to buy the perfect gift for everyone on your list. Decorating the house just so. Food. Baking. Stockings. Crafts. Parties. Programs.

The key to Christmas is enjoying the season, not setting your expectations all on the one day. That tends to be unrealistic and asking for trouble. Christmas is the culmination of the season, but it is not the end all.

Life goes on. Obviously. 'Cause here we are, already to December 29, and counting down to next Christmas. (well, some people are.)

Mr. Hippie took 5 days off work last week, which made for a nice long holiday for all of us. Late nights and late mornings. Traditions, movies, food, friends and family.

Actually, in the last 7 days, I have had people over to my house 3 times. The first was with the BFF and her family for our annual appetizer night. That was so much fun. We both scaled back on what we made so that we weren't eating unhealthy leftovers for a week. Between the two of us, and our travels, we hadn't seen each other in 5 weeks. Which is like forever in BFF time. We had a great time catching up.

Christmas night saw us hanging with my brother and sister in law and their three girls. My sil and I always make Christmas dinner easy on ourselves. We go all out for Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, but Christmas Day we want to spend with our families-not cooking. So we had lamb, mashed potatoes, and a vegetable, and we called it good. We spent a lot of time talking and laughing and relaxing.

Last night, Mr. Hippie's brother and sister in law, and their seven kids, came over to celebrate Mr. Hippie's 37th birthday. This occasion called for a massive pot of soup and a double batch of biscuits, and a birthday cake. And a ton of talking. It was great. We don't see these guys enough, and it is always good to catch up with them. Sometimes our journeys seem so lonely in the busy hustle and bustle. And then you meet up with family/friends and you get encouraged. 

I came down with a cold on Christmas Eve. A nap, headache and non-stop runny nose was not exactly the mental picture I had of my Christmas Eve. We have all these plans and traditions that a cold just doesn't work very well with. Know what I mean? I was annoyed with myself for feeling sick and tired. I was stressed because I felt I was letting my kids down. But, I slept, and healed so I could enjoy Christmas Day.

We did not have a white Christmas, though we did watch White Christmas. We had a rainy Christmas. Kind of yuck, but I will not complain about no snow. With a husband who does roofing for a living, we are always thrilled with mild weather.

I did get my wrapping finished before 1:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve. Not bad, I'd say.

We spent a nice 90 minutes listening to the King's College Cambridge doing the Festival of 9 Lessons. This is our Christmas Eve tradition. It's a live performance, so it starts at 10:00 in the morning our time. I love listening to the scripture readings and to the carols being sung. This year I found the program pdf, and the kids we able to read along. It helped them to stay engaged. I love hearing the audience noises. My dream is to be in that crowd one Christmas Eve. 

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the kids from Christmas. There are no pictures of presents or food or decorations. Just the kids...

listening to the Festival of 9 Lessons

listening too

New pajamas. This photo was snapped right before LC went completely catatonic bc her's didn't fit quite right.
Her feet are too long for the feet.
We all got backpacks for our trip to Spain. They are the real deal. My goal for this trip is to pack light.

Freckles got a Red Ryder which about did him in.

Princess dresses.

Meres, bc there never can be enough pics of Meres.
So, now we're back to real life. Not school, but everything else.

Hope you had a magnificent Christmas!