Surviving the Holidays

Our nephew Xander and Papa

Grandma Betty and Abbey Snuggling

My parents on Christmas Day


Jude has started to smile at us!



Uncle Tom and Aunt Kim were in town from Virginia

Nick and I relaxing for a few minutes

(thanks to the grandparents for watching the kids!)

Abbey got a trampoline from Santa!

We have been cleaning our house feverishly in the past few days just trying to catch up with odds and ends that we had put aside since before Jude's birth. I tried but it was nearly impossible for me to keep up with the pace that the holiday season always seems to require.....Christmas programs, parties, get-togethers with friends and family, gifts, meal planning, gifts, socializing, and more gifts.....all nice things but a little overwhelming when they are put together for 2-3 weeks solid.

I have really started to believe that Christmas is best when it is as simple as possible. I mean do we really need the stress of feeling obligated to buy everyone we know or barely know a gift? I've started to ask myself, "How much do we all really need?" (not very American of me I know). I think sometimes its easy to get caught up in the trap of Christmas expectations instead of really taking time to enjoy the real reason we celebrate the season (don't worry--I'm not going to put a "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" bumper sticker on my car). My New Years Resolution is to not allow myself to get caught up in the all the "hype" of the holidays next year.

Well, we did manage to have a fairly quiet Christmas. Nick's family came into town the weekend before and then we celebrated Christmas Day with my family. Abbey is really at a magical age and it was special to have a newborn son during this season that we celebrate the birth of Christ. We decided to have Jude baptized right before Christmas which was very memorable. Nick and I surely feel blessed......