Christmas ...a little unconventional

& it begins...
So this year Christmas was on Friday the 24th for us. A little unconventional-yes, confusing-a little....will it happen again-probably. As much as its nice that I don't have to work monday thru friday 9-5, along with the unconventional hours comes celebrating holidays a little different.
We've had our tree since just after Thanksgiving. We weren't sure how it would go over w/Lil but overall it went well. I understand that I missed a few snack times that were centered around eating the ornaments as well as using the tree as a comfy seat, or perhaps it landed her fall. But overall, considering that its still standing & I consider it a success.
So Friday, Christmas, began with heating up the oven to make cinnamon rolls, yum & heading to the tree, I mean wrapping presents 1st & then heading to the tree for presents. It really was focused around Lil. My parents bought her a tricycle that for now has a push handle, she also received a stroller for her babies, magnets for the fridge, more touch & feel books (her favorite), clothes and an amazing box full of goodies from our friends in Cali. Her favorite in that box so far has been a tea set, a little mermaid boom box/radio, little muppet stuffed animals & well its been so fun to watch her play w/some new stuff.
Eli & I set a minimal budget for each other....for which we purchased each other some goodies from World Market-love that place. A little elf (or angel) gave us a gift to enjoy a date on them & we can't wait to do that...so generous. :)

All the unwrapping was probably done by 10am & then we had eggs, sticky rolls & egg nog lattes. We hung out the rest of the morning & my parents made there way over by 2ish. We were gonna head over to Duke for their children's service, but our child slept about 2 hrs right up until the service...we missed it--never wake a sleeping baby/kid.
We took a quick stroll w/Lil's new bike, it was pretty chilly out there & then made our way over to our pastor's house. He & his family was hosting service & snacks. It was intimate & nice. They had it by their fire place and about 20+ people attended. The place we typically rent out for our Durham service didn't make sense since so many people were going out of town. We usually have 100+ people in attendance.
Then our last venture for the day was PF Changs, my parents had never been. So good....And so that was Christmas a bit early in our household.
I hope yours was as good as ours. Maybe next year we can celebrate for a bit longer...I was work bound all weekend...
And I was kind of surprised & impressed w/the snow we received. Wow, I awoke to a white filled world. That drive was messy...and now it's just about all melted.


Chef in training....
& she hugged the box, theres a baby on it

2am Thoughts

When mamma is away she works, thinks of her family, works a little more & thinks of her family A LOT more. Items that have crossed my mind.

1.E & I need a date night. Even if we just go to a park & walk or hold an adult conversation without being interrupted every other second. Not that I mind - I love little Lil, but you know what I don't think we've had many conversations lately where we aren't interrupted or I'm not exhausted or Eli isn't beat.

2.I want to love a little more & worry A LOT less in the new year or heck just going forward.

3.Be more organized, yes Eli you too.

4.Procrastinate less......this will be an ongoing goal on my part

5.Pray a little more--ok A LOT more.....

catch my theme....ok back 2 work

The Good, the bad & the ugly

The good well is really good. I love my family a lot! That hardly poetically explains how I truly feel about them, really it doesn't....so I will just say I love them A LOT.:)






The bad, well I feel that is when I get extremely inpatient. So much in our lives right now seems to be this waiting game. Waiting for answers, for easy fixes, for resolutions. When at times it feels like my heart should just be more patient but I have these times when I get SO inpatient & frustrated, do I show it often-no, do I want to-sometimes. My heart at times just wishes I could just remain focused on all the good stuff & not worry about the bad stuff, especially knowing the 'bad' could be so much worse.
The ugly, is to me when the bad just turns messy & our hearts just aren't pretty. The stuff we often don't want to talk about. We get news, we wait for news & yet I've realized its best not to wait for what never may come, for what we want isn't always the plan.