Christmas Get Togethers

We love Christmastime! We have already had three of our family Christmas get togethers, and they have been so much fun.

Last weekend, my mom's family was in Birmingham to see my cousin Jason graduate from Samford (congratulations!). We knew we wouldn't be able to drive up to Tennessee this year for Christmas, so they came over here after graduation instead of going home. We were thrilled that Granny, Johnny Wayne, Nancy, Deanna and Jason were able to meet Amelia. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and time together opening presents. Lily loves to open presents whether they are for her or not! Granny gave Lily a Sleeping Beauty DVD autographed by one of her friends who was the original voice of Sleeping Beauty; pretty cool! We're keeping it out of her reach for now though I know she will treasure this someday. The girls and I also had brunch with the family the next day while Ryan went to church. This was a wonderful weekend spent with family we don't get to see enough.

Some of Ryan's Birmingham family was in town last week, so we had Christmas with them yesterday. Lily was overjoyed with all her new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Care Bears and Finding Nemo toys and books; we have been been reading and playing with them almost non-stop. Of course, the best present was the time Liz spent here helping out with the girls so Ryan and I could rest a little bit. Big time thank you!

Saturday night we got together with my dad's family at my cousin Jodi's house. This is always a fun time that starts with tons of delicious food. We realized on the way out there that Amelia is not a big fan of her car seat. Unfortunately, it took us almost an hour to get there through traffic; our nerves were shot when we arrived but handing her off to Papa and talking to family made it better. Amelia did really well once we arrived, and Lily had a blast playing with a rocking horse in the playroom. I always love the tradition we have of reading the Christmas story and then listening to Meme talk to the kids about the meaning of Christmas. We also sing a Christmas carol and Silent Night was chosen this year. Lily looked terrified when everyone suddenly started singing; if you had heard us, you would understand why. This was a great evening!

I'll try to post some pictures from these soon, but things are a little hectic right now trying to get the last minute details finished before Thursday.

We unfortunately are not going to be able to see Ryan's Florida/Chicago family this year at Christmas. It's just too much to try to travel with a newborn. We're going down to Lakeland in May for his cousin's wedding though, so we'll be able to catch up with everyone then and introduce them to Amelia. In case you're wondering, my mom is going with us then so she can keep the girls during the wedding so they don't disrupt the ceremony or reception. Anyway, we will miss seeing them, but hopefully they always know we love them and are thinking about them!