It is hard to believe that 2009 is over AND that another holiday season has come and gone. We thank God every day for the blessings He gave us this past year ... Matt's safe return from a deployment, time with extended family, a beautiful toddler, and a beautiful new baby girl.
Over Christmas this year, Matt, Audrey, Claire, and I (along with our 2 dogs) drove back to Missouri to spend time with my family. Stuart and Courtney drove in from Virginia along with their two pups. Garrett and Meg weren't able to join us because they were in California taking care of my first nephew, Beckett! Spencer had to stay in El Paso for work, but Lara did fly in for a few days. Thanks to Skype, we saw our missing family members on the computer during the holidays.
I was especially thankful to spend the holidays in Missouri so that I could spend extra time with my Nana and Granddad Knowlan. This past summer, my Granddad was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. I even spent a morning visiting my Grandma Peterson, who is in the final stages of Alzheimer's. I treasure every moment I spend with my grandparents, but this Christmas was particularly meaningful for me as I talked with and loved on my grandparents. I must thank my wonderful husband for being willing to load up our family and make the long drive to Missouri so I could stock up some precious grandparent time.
Christmas gets more exciting for us every year. Audrey, as a energetic three year old, definitely got very excited about Christmas this year. Not only was she really excited to celebrate the birth of Jesus ("Can we make cupcakes for baby Jesus's birthday, Mommy?"), she also loved telling anyone who would listen that she wanted Santa to bring her a Barbie and the Hungry Hippos game! So, on Christmas Eve, Matt, Gram, and I helped Audrey make Christmas cookies for Jesus, Santa, and "all of us" (as she wanted to be sure she got a cookie, too). When bed time arrived, she quickly went to bed so Santa would be sure to stop at Gram and Pa's house.
Christmas morning was a whirlwind of breakfast, Christmas music, wrapping paper, laughter, and joy. The grown ups had just as much fun as Audrey, even if we had to work hard to keep her from opening our gifts as well as hers! Later that evening, we ate dinner with my Dad's side of the family (my aunts, uncle, cousins, and grandparents). The day was over before we knew it!
The rest of the week in Missouri flew by. We celebrated my birthday (Matt and I were treated to a date night - dinner and the 3D version of Avatar), spent more time enjoying family moments, and packed up our new gifts in our van before heading back to South Carolina. We made it home in time to bring in the New Year with Nana B (Matt's mom) and a few of our friends!
Enjoy the slideshow of pics from our trip to Missouri... (Special thanks to my friend, Megan, for teaching me how to create this slideshow!)
2 days ago
No comments:
Post a Comment