A non-Charlie Brown Christmas

As I sit here and think about yesterday's festivities, I can't help but feel a little overwhelmed and very grateful to the people who showed us such generosity and love. I'm not sure Christmas, and all that it includes, can really be soaked up on one day. Yes, there were some gifts I expected and others that I was surprised by, but when it really comes down to it, no one is required to give you a gift or spend money on you, so I am very grateful.

The day was supposed to go like this:

Breakfast at Steve's parents at 9am.

Open presents/hang out.

Leave by 1:30 pm to drive to Lancaster, PA.

Dinner at Beth's grandparents with all the family 3pm.

Open gifts, etc.

Hang out.

Leave when I can't keep my eyes open.

It actually went like this:

We accidently set BOTH alarms for an hour late. Why? I don't know, it just happened. We arrived at Steve's parent's an hour late (10am). Michelle and Lauren were still working on breakfast (which they had been up since 8am doing) and we ate around 10:50.

Breakfast was really delicious. The girls had made everything from eggs and bacon to crepes with the option of fruit, meat or chocolate. Very good. We didn't escape comments about being late, however. (sigh- oh well!!!) :)

After breakfast we cleaned up and headed into the living room to open presents. I was sitting next to Lauren on the couch, so I assumed it was my turn to go after her. Little did I know there was a "Creel system" I wasn't aware of. (Not surprised.) Their gift rounds to by age and you can't do any of the cards first, or the stockings...you save those for last. So, we went around and opened presents, most times I forgot it was my turn until everyone was staring at me and I was smiling stupidly. There were other times when I started to open a present and it wasn't my turn. Bother.

We had a lot of fun and got great gifts. (Thanks, guys!)

We left for my grandparent's house about a half hour late. Late Christmas Eve, I had remembered that I was supposed to make dinner rolls to bring, but had remembered around midnight, so it was a no-can-do. I called my family once we were in the car to let them know. I COULDN'T BELIEVE I'D FORGOTTEN! As you can guess, I didn't hear the end of it once I got there. :) We tried to stop at a gas station to see if they had any, but all they had were hotdog buns and I didn't think people would really enjoy them with their ham and homemade casseroles.

Almost as soon as we walked in the door, we were bombarded with hugs. It was great :) And then we were bombarded with gifts. Steve and I sat in the middle with my family around us and opened all of our gifts and handed out our own. It was a little weird, just because it all happened so fast, but I think of it as lightning round and the challenge is to remember who gave you what. :) One of my favorite gifts was the Bare Minerals makeup starter kit. My mom and several friends have it, so I am anxious to give it a try. I think Steve was more excited about his tools/gift cards than he was about my Bare Minerals.

A sideways view of us at my grandparents:

Aunt Kathy and Uncle Bill:

Dinner was delicious. The huge table was full of all kinds of food. Even though everyone did their best, there were still tons of left overs. Steve and I left with a large bag full of ham, cookies, etc. We'll be eating well these next couple of days!

A favorite gift (from my sister). Gum to chew to make sure that you don't have ugly children:

After dinner, everyone hung out and relaxed for a while. People started leaving by 7:30. Elf was on t.v. so it wasn't long before we were all laughing and quoting most parts of it. Steve and I left around 8:30 heavy laden with gifts and goodies.

We had a nice trip home trying to remember significant parts of the day. When we got home we sorted through our gifts and wrote thank you cards. I know- you're impressed. :) Tomorrow, I think we will hit the stores.

Love to you all and Happy Holidays!!!