I really AM going to do better with the blog this year. Maybe that's my resolution for 2013. I don't really like resolutions, so this may be as close as I come.
I think the best way to do this is to keep it simple. I can spend FOREVER writing the "just right" post and knowing that I really don't have the time to devote to that just makes me not do it.
So, here I am... blogging. What to talk about? CHRISTMAS & NEW YEARS! :)
This was our 2nd "Married" Christmas together, but our 1st Christmas in our new house. A fun thing that our neighborhood does is cut out wooden signs. Actually, lots of neighborhoods in our town do this including the one I grew up in. So for me this has always been normal, but I am learning that this is not done in many other places, so here's how it works: Each neighborhood chooses a "theme." My old neighborhood had geese (we lived on a lake). Everyone has the exact same cut-out and paint it the same way and then have their families' names on their sign. In our new neighborhood (actually it isn't really new to Christopher since it is the neighborhood he grew up in...) each street has their own Christmas "decoration" (bell, candle, stocking, etc.). A lot of times when people move out of a house, they leave their yard decoration for the next owner who just changes the name. Well, we searched high and low and there was no bell for our yard. So, we got crafty. Christopher ordered a jigsaw (oh, the fun I could have with that... or telling him what to do with it) and traced a neighbor's and I did the painting. Here was our bell.
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| Our bell in all its splendor |
My sweet mom had our gas logs all fixed up for us. There was a gas leak this summer/fall and the gas company came out to turn off the gas and when they did that, they totally disassembled the log set-up, etc. So in addition to a new valve, our logs had to be reassembled. And once they were, we had to "break them in." We decided s'mores would be the most fun way. :)
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| Snap was a fantastic little helper. |
Christopher and I also attended our 1st tacky Christmas sweater party. He isn't wearing his hat in this picture.
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| Don't we look cute? |
My brother was also at the party so I convinced him to take a picture with me. Please ignore how ridiculous I look. I refuse to not keep it though because I realized how precious these pictures can become.
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| Not sure why my mom didn't use this for the family Christmas card this year... |
We went to Christmas Eve service at 4:30 at church. It is a HUGE, beautiful service. I love it! Then, we went to Christopher's parents' house for soup. Afterwards, we did the neighborhood parties. Those are so much fun. I love seeing old friends and the excitement of the kids (and occasionally their parents, too) can make anyone feel giddy about the holiday! Afterwards, we went back to the (other) Williams's house and exchanged our presents.
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| Our family on Christmas Eve in front of C's parents' tree |
On Christmas day, we woke up and Christopher and I opened a (specific) few presents, most importantly, my new coffee maker. Afterward opened and given an inaugural run, we went to my mom's house in our pajamas for brunch. We also opened our stockings there with my mom, step-dad (Tom), and step-sister (Tiffany). We went home afterwards and opened a few more presents, then changed and went back to my mom's house. She had picked up my grandmother from her assisted living community, and we had Christmas dinner with her and then spent some time with her after. We also gave her some gifts. After leaving, we ran by the Williams's house to say "Merry Christmas." We got home about 10 PM and finished opening gifts. The next day, my dad came into town and Drew, Christopher, and I went out to lunch with him.
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| Snap enjoyed Christmas dinner. |
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| Before the game- New Year's Eve 2012 |
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| Watching the game with the extended family |
Thankfully, our Clemson Tigers claimed the victory that night! That was the perfect start to 2013!
Hopefully, I will start posting pics of home projects VERY soon. :)
