On Thursday night, Amanda and I began making Christmas treats. I am now convinced that you can dip ANYTHING in white chocolate. We dipped Ritz crackers, pretzels, strawberries, and more! I enjoyed spending time with Amanda and in the kitchen!
Christmas started for us on Friday night with Chili and Potato Soup supper at Sage and Amanda's. Unfortunately we had some sickly boys on our hands... not the little boy, the big ones :) Sage was in the hospital all day/night on Friday with his back and Daniel spent Friday in the doctor's office with yet ANOTHER sinus infection. We are now told that his is caused by allergies (after at least four years of battling this). Anyways, back to Christmas - we enjoyed Shane, his wife to be Jennifer, and all of their girls for a visit. The night was spent laughing at kids, playing blocks, and of course opening presents!!
Saturday was spent with a lazy morning and a BUSY afternoon! That afternoon, we assembled not one but two trampolines. One for Rhett and one for the Rolison girls down the street. I love living in a neighborhood where everyone pitches in to assure that the neighborhood kiddos have their "Santa" assembled by Christmas morning! Daniel, Amanda, Rhett, and I headed to Aunt Jan's for the annual Christmas Eve gathering with the Vick family. It was great to see everyone and we even had a Skype date with Daniel's Aunt Sandy who lives in New Mexico!
The Reynolds House awoke EARLY (5:30 a.m.) on Christmas to fit all the festivities in. Morgan had to do Christmas with us before leaving to do breakfast with Sara's family. It was so nice to have Daniel, Morgan, and Tyler stay at the house on Christmas Eve. We unwrapped and ooohed and aaahed over everything. Daniel surprised me with the most beautiful diamond earring jackets. I have not taken the our since Christmas - they are gorgeous! Momma saved the best present for last - she had an old friend do a pencil sketch of our house, she had them framed (on for her and daddy and one for each kid), she also attached a sappy letter letting us all know that we were each her favorite! It is truly a gift that I will treasure forever.
After the tears were dried and paper was cleaned up, we get dressed for Round Two, breakfast at Amanda's. This has always been a tradition for Daniel's family but it was so nice to have the Davis family across the street and close enough for Momma, Daddy, and Tyler to join us. We had entirely too much food and enjoyed watching Rhett play with all of his new toys.
We left breakfast and headed to church. I hate to say that it was strange to have church on Christmas but in a way it was. We celebrate the birth of Jesus yet many people skipped out on church to celebrate Santa - strange :) The service was great and there was a good crowd in spite of the holiday and the rainy/cold weather!
When we got home from church, we began the last minute cleaning and cooking. Also, this is when Morgan and Sara swapped presents. We had been hiding "Pearl" in the guesthouse and none of us could contain our excitement! Sara opened a box with some dog treats, a chew toy, and a strand of pearls. She wouldn't get too excited - unsure of what was to come. And in walked Daddy holding the tiniest little furball, our newest West Highland Terrier of the family, Pearl. Sara was ecstatic and shed a few tears. Pearl was ready to play and loved on her new mommy!
Lunch for us included entirely too much food (much like breakfast) and lots of visiting and laughter. It was so nice to have the whole family together for a few hours at least. We also got to enjoy Cole and Mady - nothing like kiddos at Christmas! After all the food was eaten and the dishes were piled, it was time to say good bye to Daniel. Due to the jam packed weekend, I really felt like I hadn't seen him at all. Luckily, Momma and Daddy could tell I wasn't ready to say good bye and Daddy told me I could ride back home with Daniel and that Momma would come get me Wednesday (wasn't that sweet of him!). Momma agreed and I got to spend the end of Christmas with Daniel. I will be so glad when we are together everyday and don't have to worry about good byes anymore!!
I spent my days after Christmas taking down decorations and cleaning. I also finished addressing and stuffing all but 30 Save-the-Dates. Those will go in the mail soon and we can check that off our wedding to do list. The list is getting shorter but the time to complete the things is getting closer!
As I look back on 2011, I am thankful for the good times, cautious not to repeat bad times, and anxious for the new times in 2012. May 2012 bring everyone peace, happiness, and a whole lot of LOVE (I know we will have all of that and more since it will finally be the year we are getting hitched!)
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