Grateful...

Well Christmas is officially over and although it is such a fun time of year I am nothing but relieved. Now we can focus 100% on this baby and getting him home.

So how was our Christmas? As it is every year, AMAZING. We were completely spoiled rotten and as usual, it was so good to spend time with family. Christmas changes as you get older and some of that magic seems to disappear... LUCKILY we have 5 young kiddos that have helped keep that magic alive. Watching Kai, Tielyr, Porter, Canyon, and Linc this year was so much fun. Just watching them look through the weekly ad was funny.

Christmas Eve was spent at the Struke's playing games and eating the best finger foods! Since Tyler and I weren't doing our own Christmas this year he was a champ and stayed at my moms with me. He really was a good sport. Kai and I have spent the last 5 years together on Christmas Eve and since this could be his last year believing, I didn't want to miss it. He slept on the top bunk while Tyler and I shared the futon. You could just hear the anxiety in the sheets, he kept tossing and turning and could not hold still. When we woke up we had to coordinate with Maci and Drew so we could all see what Santa brought at the same time. Kai was anxious but was able to wait for everyone to get there. It was sure fun to see the smile on his face as we opened gifts, I'm going to miss those memories with him as he gets older.

After spending time with my family Tyler and I headed home, showered, and we were back in the car to visit with Chad and Lisa. As usual, saying that they spoiled us would be an understatement. These two crazy kooks are like Mr. and Mrs. Claus themselves. I wish I would have had my camera to take pictures of all the fun gifts and food, next year I'll capture it all with my new Canon Rebel!!!

Thank you to everyone who was able to share the holiday season with us this year. We love all of you and are grateful for your love and friendship. Next year Baby B will be here to join in the family traditions and to create new ones!

Not so Holly Jolly...

I hate to admit it but this is me this year :( For those of you who may not know me very well I absolutely LOVE the holiday season. There is nothing better than food, fun, and family. I also love to decorate my house and enjoy all the festivities. This year, not so much. We decided that we weren't going to put up a Christmas tree, mostly because we like to cut one down and this year that was so much work for us to do before the baby gets here. I really do have a lot of other things going on that I need to worry about. I did debate on whether or not I'd pull out all of my cute Christmas decorations, again, the verdict was unsucessful. I pulled out all of my Christmas totes from under the house, took one look at them, and put them right back. I hate that I'm being a grinch but just thinking about putting it all up makes me feel exhausted. I don't even want to think about taking it all down! Plus, if we didn't take it all down right away we'd risk having it out when the baby got here. It just isn't something I want to deal with. Don't worry, this isn't something I plan on ever doing again! Once B is here we will pull out all the lights and decor, I think every kid needs to have a little extra spunk in their holiday and my house will be all Christmas!