Christmas Eve Joys!

It may be one of those things where having low expectations makes it seem that much better, but this ended up being one of my favorite Christmas Eves!  (*I think I'm also a fan of things being memorable and unique, like our 2011 breakfast-for-dinner Christmas Eve when Mom was still needing medical care and rest from the wreck and infection.  There were sad elements to it, but it ended up feeling more special to me because it didn't follow our usual pattern. And perhaps because the simple joys are always intensified in years when the shadow of death has been more prevalent.  But there's obviously a lot to be said for keeping traditions, as well, so hopefully we'll get back to all of that next year!!) ❤❤❤

We had a family lunch instead of dinner this year.  JoBug made sugar cookies and then brought over the cookies + icing and sprinkles and such for the kids to decorate them.  She also brought a stocking with little gifts for each kid, which was one of the only things they had to open with us since Mom and Dad and I all went with $$ as the gift this year.  I'll do my best to make more of an effort next year, but this year, it was JoBug for the win!!

The hole she cut in the Ziploc bags was a little too big, so they really piled the frosting on! lolol

It was frosting from Eileen's, so YUM!!

Dad called in Ted's and got it to-go for us for lunch... and Blake and his girlfriend, Wendy, stopped by for a few minutes as we ate chips and queso and enchiladas!  He originally wasn't planning to join the group, but since he got his first round of the COVID vaccine, he decided to come over for a bit, and it was great to get to see him and meet Wendy and get a quick update on his life as a new doctor through this craziness!

We had a very short round of gift opening (the stockings, the $, and this cool IronWorks gift Mom got for JoBug)!

Here's Rach and K-Faith decorating some cookies!  Kyndal wanted to be creative by blending all the colors of frosting - sadly, that just turns brown or ugly green, but it was a lovely thought. lol

JB and Jaceman... please note her "Gangsta Wrapper" shirt, which the kids loved! =)

Mom had us get together for a couple pics... love this one! ❤

That reminded me that I'd wanted to recreate this pic of Mamaw with the kids from 2017, so we got everyone outside and made that happen! =)

Me and my niece and nephews!

JB left after lunch, then David texted me around 2 asking if I'd like to come see the dogs... yes, please!  Jace was doing eye therapy, Carter was playing outside, and Kyndal was Facetiming a friend and coloring with her... so T-man came with me to see the best girlfranz, who were much happier to see us than they look here! lol  The flompy-sues were cute as ever, and Tman and I had a good talk. =)  He told me they had an assignment to write a letter to someone who had impacted their life, and he wrote his to me but had forgotten to bring it home... LOVE him and love that!!  I'll be following up on that and reminding him for sure. lol

When we knew for sure that the kids would be with Josh for Christmas Eve dinner that night, I suggested we see if Bill and Jill wanted to join me and Mom and Dad for dinner.  Then I called The Ranch Steakhouse, and they had one opening left at 8:00... surprisingly, it all worked out pretty last minute and everyone was on board - we had a delicious dinner and a fun talk with the Lemieux fam, as always!  I had to get this masked-up pic of us on our way in to dinner! =)

And a masked-up pic of them on the way out! lol  (I'm very much hoping that this phase of our lives will be over next year, but it felt appropriate to document it while it lasts.)

Last year was our first Christmas Eve without Grandad... and this year was our first without him or Babah (she's recovering at Virginia's house, and we went to see her the day after Christmas).  We were also missing Uncle Mike and Emily, and we didn't have our usual pile of gifts for the kids and our dinner plan with the Parrish fam... but in the end, it was still a really fun and lovely day with people I love and care about, and I'm so thankful for God's grace in that!! ❤