Christmas #3 and a week in Irving

On Christmas Eve, we packed up in the morning and drove to Irving during Cara's naptime for one last Christmas celebration with my family. We got there and had lunch, Nana and Grandad came over to play with Cara and we just relaxed. Mom had made a ton of goodies to snack on, and we got to hang out with family.

One of our traditions is to eat a really nice gourmet meal that Dad cooks for Christmas Eve. We opened some presents, until dinner was ready, then we ate our delicious meal. I got a good deal of clothes and accessories, Chance got an awesome air compressor for his tool collection, Cara got lots of books and toys--her very own cell phone! We gave Mom a Crock Pot that she had mentioned she needed, and I made Dad a really cool daily calendar, created from my Instagram pictures. It's called printstagram, and I had to amp up my IG posting so I could have 365 pictures of Cara and me and Chance to print in the calendar. We all spoiled each other!

We paused presents and ate Dad's meal of prime rib roast, carrots and potatoes and ambrosia salad. For dessert, Mom made ice cream with cinnamon apples and maple caramel honey sauce. Yuuuuuuummmm....

We finished opening presents and put Cara to bed. Dad took Grandmother home and we cleaned up, then we watched a movie and went to bed. One of the things I like best about our Christmas Eve traditions is that we read the Christmas story from Luke 2, and usually every year we have some different insight or facet that means something to us and we discuss it.

Last year when Cara was so small, it hit me, and this year it became even more clear to think about Mary having a sweet little baby in a stable, and how she must have felt to have a precious baby who she also knew was the Savior of the world. We all look at our children and wonder what they will become when they grow up. How incredible for Mary to know that her son Jesus would be our Savior, even from the moment of His birth.

I am thankful in our family for the way we spend time together and love each other. Yes, we give presents that we all want and surprise each other, but we also just enjoy each other's company. That's what I remember most about each Christmas.

 {1 oz of chocolate milk as a treat--delish!}

 {Santa jammies for Cara, tacky Santa sweatshirt for Mama :)}

 {Don't text and walk, baby girl!}

 {reading the Christmas story--she kept wanting to turn the paper-thin pages a little too roughly}

 {Tickle Monster book and gloves!}

On Christmas Day, Nana and Grandad and my uncle's family came over for lunch and presents. Before that, Santa came to visit Cara and brought her a ride-on car with a push button. She didn't know what to think, but had a lot of fun learning to "drive". We opened presents with them and my sweet 5-year-old cousin, ate a bunch of soups Mom and Nana made and just took it easy. It was a very low-key, family-oriented afternoon. Then we all deserved naps!

Chance had to leave that night to go back to work the next day, so it was sad to say goodbye to him. He planned to come back after a couple of days to get us on the weekend.

Mom got sick on Christmas night with the stomach bug of death, so our plans changed just a little bit. We spent a couple of days in our jammies, lounging and resting and playing with Cara. Nana and Grandad came over to give a hand and play with her too. It was awful that Mom was sick, but it was fine that we took it easy because we all needed the rest. I read a book in 3 days (Gone Girl--highly recommend!), took naps, and got out to Hobby Lobby to get some craft things. Chance got called in to work on Saturday morning (boo, Target debit card debacle causing banks to work overtime), so he couldn't meet us until Saturday afternoon. :(

 {with her Minnie Mouse doll in her Minnie Mouse jammies!}

By then, we were all ready to get out of the house, so Mom, Dad, Cara and I drove to Bishop Arts to Emporium Pies for a treat. And WHAT treat--I had the best pie of my life. Flaky crust, butterscotch pudding and gooey caramel and brown sugar meringue. Holy moly, I'll never forget it.

 {THE pie}

{sweet Buck and Cara}

We drove to Hillsboro to meet Chance and swap off. Our week of Christmas celebration had come to an end, sadly. But we were so glad to be back with Chance--we had missed him! We drove home while Cara napped (finally!) and put up her Christmas present from us--a PBK bookrack for ALL the books she's amassed. Her chair was last year's Christmas present, so now she has a sweet reading nook in the living room. She immediately began taking books on an off, pointing to ones on the top shelf that she couldn't reach and enjoying it. Made my heart so happy!

This week, I'm spending my time doing projects, taking naps, going to various doctor's appointments, playing with Cara, celebrating the New Year and enjoying my last week off before school starts again. It's been a lovely Christmas break so far.

Up next--Cara's 16 month update!!! Whoa.