Christmas 2008

Phillip and I both agree Christmas felt very different this year. It seemed to get here way before we were ready, and in a blink of an eye it was gone again. This was my first Christmas with no grandparents:( Our family tradition has always included a gift exchange at my Gigi's (my dad's mom) on Christmas eve and a gift exchange at my Nana's (mom's mother) on Christmas day afternoon.

The most exciting part of Christmas was our trip to visit our nephews (and other family members of course). We arrived at my sister-in-law and brother-in-law's home early Christmas morning for a gift exchange with the Coleman clan. Sarah and Brad were running behind, so we were able to spend quality time playing with the boys before opening any gifts or eating our wonderful brunch. Austin could not wait to show us his Christmas gifts - he got a flat screen TV and I threatened to steal it from him! He also got a Nintendo DS which I played ALL day Christmas! I should have asked for one - it has a Mario Brothers game which is my absolute favorite! Hayden had so many toys that he bounced back and forth between them playing. The boys got a new basketball goal from Nana and Papa and the boys spent half the morning putting it together. We were able to play a little basketball around noon and didn't even have to wear coats! Christmas definitely makes me miss being a kid! I am grateful to have young children around to celebrate Christmas with because they really remind me of Christ's gift of coming to earth as a baby because he loves us so much.

Christmas with the Fosters was also good, just different. Phillip and I opened gifts with my parents Friday evening when we got to Clarksdale. We received wonderful gifts and enjoyed spending time with my parents, but again it was weird because my brother was gone on a fishing trip so he wasn't there. Mom said that Christmas morning was very odd for them. My aunts, uncles, and cousins on mom's side of the family came for lunch Saturday and it was nice to see them. I was kind of in a daze most of the day and felt sort of like an outsider watching the rest of the family celebrate Christmas. I think it was just different having Christmas without Nana, but knowing that she spent Christmas day with Jesus is definitely exciting!

Phillip and I both received wonderful gifts from our family members and from one another. My favorite gifts included my Paula Deen Cookbooks, many gift cards which I hope to use if we ever move into a new house, and another book The Shack by William Paul Young. I've heard a lot about this book and have wanted to read it for quite some time. My mother in law did a GREAT job picking this out for me! I have already read about 3/4 of the book and it's made me do a lot of thinking. Maybe I'll share some of those thoughts later.