'Twas The Day After Christmas

I had such a great Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. God is good. 

Christmas Eve we had supper at my aunt & uncle's before church then we went to church where my cousin's baby was baptized. Afterwards we all went back to my aunt & uncle's and just enjoyed each other's company. Watching the excitement of my three year old cousin A. was the absolute best. We had given baby M. a present for her baptism and didn't want A. to feel left out so we brought a little something for her too. (And by little something I mean a single Christmas ornament that we found at Wal-Mart for under $5.) When she found out she was allowed to open it then she carefully but enthusiastically tore off the pink paper and squealed with delight and yelled "A decoration!" then she ran around the room to show everyone her new "decornation" and simultaneously offering up a "sank you". I also loved watching her in church as she proudly stood up on the pew, hymn book in hand and sang her heart out. I am so thankful for her and pray with every fibre of my being someday it's my little girl keeping everyone entertained Christmas.

Christmas Day we opened presents and I was seriously blessed. My biggest surprise present was a Magic Bullet Deluxe set with a bunch of different blades and attachments for the cups! I haven't gotten a change to try it out yet but I see A LOT of smoothies in my future. And homemade salsa. And iced coffee. I may even attempt to recreate Second Cup's Frozen Hot Chocolate! 

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I also got an amazing gift from my friend who I met through church back when I was in university. We send each other a Christmas package and I was so excited when I opened this on Christmas morning. At this point you all know how much I love words of affirmation and I love how much thought went into this gift. I'm using a lot of willpower not to read all those little notes right away but I really do want to save them and read one each day in 2014. I've also been thinking about how I need to get back into journalling with a real pen & paper. The next time I'm in town I'm going to pick up a notebook and for each day of 2014 I will glue in the quote I pick from the jar each day and scribble down a few words about the day, draw a few doodles, and by the end of the year I'll have an amazing scrapbook. I think I even have a blank Smash* Book that might be perfect for this project. That's a post for another time though...back to Christmas!

I got some great new clothes including this hoodie that has been on my wish list for months! 

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I also got some new make up, a supply of body washes & lotions to last well into the new year and a few gift cards to spend once things quiet down a little. 

And of course the kitties got some new toys too. 

We enjoyed Christmas dinner with my Dad's side of the family and then spent the evening with my mom's side. I can't put into words how thankful I am to have so many aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. And that family really is a priority. I can't imagine growing up without cousins and aunts and grandparents, but I know that for so many it's hard to imagine growing up with that kind of extended family. Mine certainly isn't perfect and there was the usual arguments about how many chairs we need and the uncles probably had one too many glasses of homemade wine but that's life. 

I'm off to spend the rest of the day enjoying the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives marathon on the Food Network making homemade pizzas for supper and visiting with a family friend this evening. I hope everyone is enjoying time with family & friends!