We kicked off the holiday festivities with our office Christmas party, hosted by sweet Dr. Ashraf and her husband. There was a delicious spread of party food and we played a hilarious game of dirty Santa. In the end, I believe I came home with a giant bottle of Milk of Magnesia and Jimbo got a massaging monkey neck pillow. Those have "re-gift" written all over them!!! Still, it was a great party. We love our work family!
After dinner, we were off to the zoo. The girls were very excited! When we got there, we walked around and looked at the lights and went to the wildlife show where Allie petted a hedgehog. We then got some snacks and hot chocolate and got in line to ride the train. At the end of the train ride, Santa showed up for a surprise visit. All in all, I think the girls had a blast and so did we!
A few days later, we met up with some work friends for dinner at El Barrio Restaurante downtown, and then headed to the historic Alabama Theatre to see "A Christmas Story". This was part of the holiday film series that the Alabama Theatre features every year. After a sing-a-long of "Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra" with The Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ, the movie started. Of course, we've seen it a thousand times, but there's something about seeing it on the big screen that makes it so much more fun...
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| "You'll shoot your eye out, kid! HO HO HO!!!" |
In the midst of everything, I did manage to get the Christmas tree decorated. We were given several "our first Christmas" ornaments as wedding presents, which made it really special. I also brought out my favorite decoration, a ceramic Santa made years ago by my Grandpa.
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| If you look closely, you'll see that I made the nice list! |
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| Levi thought that all the presents were his! |
On Christmas Eve, we worked a half-day, then headed to my grandparents' house for lunch. I feel very blessed to still have them as a part of my life!
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| I love this sweet man so much! |
That night, we had dinner with Jimbo's family at his grandparents' house. It was wonderful to see everyone and "catch up" after all of our wedding festivities were finally over. The next day, we had a nice, quiet Christmas morning at our house. We didn't sleep very late, because my boys (Jimbo and Levi) couldn't wait to open presents. I gave Jimbo some car "accessories" that he asked for, plus some new gloves and socks (exciting, I know ;). He gave me a Stitch Fix gift card (more on that later), and a cute decal for my car with my new initials. Levi and Daisy got some treats and some squeaky tennis balls. Within an hour, we had headaches from the squeaking and there was orange fuzz all over the living room floor! What was Santa thinking?! After opening presents, we decided to try out one our new waffle irons (yes, there are 2 ;). The waffles turned out delish!
Later that afternoon, we left to go to my mother's house for Christmas dinner. Dinner was fabulous, as always. She and my aunts never disappoint. After all, they learned from the best!
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| My cousin Mark and me. |
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| The Fam :) |
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| "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!" |
As I said before, we really enjoyed our first Christmas together. We were blessed to be able to spend time with our friends and family and start some new traditions of our own. I'm thankful for an amazing husband, my awesome family, and my sweet new family. Most importantly, I'm thankful for God's most precious gift to us, the birth of Jesus. He is the reason for the season!
