This Christmas will always be imprinted on my brain...because of how different it turned out from our plan! My brother has been working in Miami since early fall, so we (our family of 4 plus my parents) planned to drive to Miami to spend a fabulous week on the beach. We were looking forward to boating, sand castle building, fun new food, and warmth! But...all the plans we made were not meant to be!
Two days before we were to leave for Miami, my mom got sick with a diverticulitis attack, and ended up bring in the hospital for 5 days before feeling good enough to come home. The same day she went into the hospital, the boys spiked fevers and were pretty down and out for a few days. So the trip was off for sure. Thankfully, my brother was able to get a flight and come to spend Christmas in Texas with us! So we made plans to have a fun week together, exploring the local Christmas fun instead. But... that wasn't meant to be either! On Christmas Eve, I spiked a fever and felt awful, but I pushed through because I wanted it to be a fun Christmas Day. The day after Christmas I made it to the doctor and was diagnosed with strep. Later that afternoon, Justin came down with it, and we were both completely down and out for 36 hours. Thank goodness my parents and my brother were here to take care of the boys! They were both still not completely fever free, and on Friday, my parents took them to their doctor and they both had ear infections. Poor boys! Plus, a few days later, my dad also came down with strep. =( Thankfully, my brother, who came to us, stayed healthy and had a great time playing with the boys.
So, this was definitely not the Christmas we'd planned for this year AT ALL, but it ended up being a great Christmas after all--even with all the sicknesses!
Before the sickness entered the house, we had a fun day hanging out together and baking!
Aaron and I made cinnamon rolls!
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| We're some serious bakers! |
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| Just kidding! =) |
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| Finished! |
Later on, we all pitched in to make cookies for Santa! Gigi had sewed the boys aprons for Christmas, and they were so happy to put them on and use rolling pins!
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| Sprinkles were flowing... |
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| And being eaten!! |
Cookies for Santa...check!
The boys seemed to think that they needed to do a taste test of Santa's milk and the reindeer's carrots!
And they gave our sweet Elf, Buddy, a hug goodbye!
The next morning... Santa had polished off his cookies and left a reminder of what Christmas is really all about!
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| The boys had fun singing Jesus Happy Birthday! |
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| Our entertainment center served as our mantel since we have no fireplace! |
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| Santa even knows the boys' colors! He's amazing!! ;-) |
The boys were so excited to see all the gifts! It was so funny watching them open them...Will had his all opened by the time Jack had opened just two! Jack was savoring each one!
The aftermath...
Playtime!
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| Puzzles from our cousins... |
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| Horse from Boppa and Gigi... Fireman dress up clothes from Ryan, Joy, and Ryley... |
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| Cash register... |
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| and other fun games from Mammaw and Pappaw... and so many more that didn't get pictures taken! |
All in all, this was a fabulous Christmas! Even though it didn't go as I had planned! The boys really "got it" this year, and even are understanding about Baby Jesus and God's gift to us. Hopefully they'll have some snippets of memories of this year, but even if they don't, we'll have many many wonderful ones to share with them for years to come!
And thankfully, we are all healthy again and were able to have a great New Year and start to 2014! =)
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