Merry Christmas!

There was something absolutely perfect  about this Christmas.   I'm not sure if it was the fact that Pumpkincould enjoy this year more than last year,  and I knew she was going to l-o-v-e her new stuff, the fact that I had really been able to shop for Red this year since I've had more sleep than I did last, or that it SNOWED, but there was something magically perfect.

Santa stopped by our house pretty early on Christmas Eve, meaning we were able to eat the Cookies he " just couldn't finish" and head onto bed.  On Christmas Morning, Pumpkin woke us up a little before 7 and hung out with her Daddy while I made some pancakes for us to eat while opening presents.  She didn't really notice much of a difference at first, then she saw her new kitchen, and we told her Santa had brought her some new toys she needed to open up!  She was really into it!  She would tear the wrapping paper until she got to whatever new toy it was, play with it for a second, and then it was on to the next.   It was so heartwarming to watch my baby get so excited about her new stuff.  You could just tell she was happy!  Red seemed to enjoy his collection of electronics from Santa too.  And me?  I am 100% loving my new Nikon D5000!  Now, I just have to figure out how to use it and get the most out of it.  I've been playing with it, but in January I am signing up for a photography class!  Hopefully it will be a big help, and the best part, it's on Saturday Mornings, so Red will be home to watch the darlin' girl.

After round one, we logged onto skype, and began our "visits" around the world.  In Decatur, Texas my brother ( let's call him Tex because that's the only name that makes sense) was trying to visit our Granny, Aunt, Uncle and their daughters in the Dallas area, but he had to go back to work on the Oil Rig.  Then, we headed up to Arkansas to open the presents that Red's family had sent to us ( they celebrate on Christmas Eve so we got to see every one and sort of be there)  We got to see my two little nephews open up gifts, they are so precious!  The oldest one, B, didn't really know what to think of Skype at first, but we did manage to get a little conversation out of him!  After we left Arkansas, we went back to Texas to visit with my Grandma, Mom and Daddy.  It is always so nice to catch Grandma on Skype!  She is so funny and sweet.  I only wish I could give her a big hug for the holidays.  I know she loves when she has visitors, I just want to be one of them more often.  When Ava woke up from her nap, we got to see Red's Grandma and Granddaddy's house- filled with all of his extended relatives!  Most of them live in the area, so they gather for Christmas Eve.  Uncles, Aunts, Cousins!  We got to say Hi to every one!  I think there was Farkle involved, at least, I can guess.   I imagine the evening was a blast.  I know, I've been there before.  So many fun people all together.

After breakfast for lunch ( thanks to my new waffle iron!  The one that FLIPS. How cool is that?) , Red, Pumpkin and me all headed out to his Sergeant's Building's Community room.  They set up an entire Christmas dinner for any one who wanted to come!  The company and the food was all wonderful.  Baby girl had a blast playing with the other kids and they all bombarded Red to throw them around when he walked up to the group.  Another one of those heartwarming things.  It was really great.

Now, let's get back to the snow.

  It snowed ( mostly) the entire day of Christmas.  I grew up in South East Texas.  It sleeted once every eight years with claims of flurries.  This was a Christmas Miracle for me!!  It was also really unexpected ( for me at least, I didn't check the weatherman's thoughts) It's been mid 50's here.  Then, SNOW?  There might have been some jumping up and down involved.  However, I can not confirm that.  When Pumpkin went down for her nap, Red and me went out on our balcony in our pajamas ( I am sure our neighbors were thrilled.) , watched the snow, and I drank the coffee he made me.  Red makes the best coffee, with out drinking any of it.  It's sad really.  Like making the best chocolate cake and then not having any because you don't like chocolate cake.  Maybe I should threaten his new iPad to make him drink some?  Any way,  after deciding we were cold and needed to get some chairs out there, we went back in and cleaned up the wrapping paper with the windows open and heat on. 

We ended the most perfect Christmas with taking down the tree and wrapping up the decorations.  Our tree had died about 3 weeks ago, and I'm kind of surprised it didn't go up in flames before now.  We vacuumed, re- arranged slightly, and decided we had to go through our photo frames and decide which ones to put up since it felt so empty.  More spacious and clean, but very empty.

Now, we are just getting ready to kick off 2011!  I have a feeling it's going to be a fun, eventful year!