Christmas at Pops and Memaw's

On the 26th, we got up and headed over to Pops and Memaw's for our last Christmas celebration. The girls were so excited! And so were Josh and I, because Christmas at Pops and Memaw's means BREAKFAST by Pops! YUMM!!!! It was almost ready by the time we got there. Eggs, biscuits, gravy, sausage and bacon! OMG- it was so good. The kids assumed their places at the table...

But as soon as they had swallowed their last bite, it was present time!! It didn't matter that us adults weren't done yet, those 3 had an agenda!!
I did make them stop long enough for a cousin picture in front of the tree.

But to get that one decent picture, these came first...

Oh Wyatt! That kid is next to impossible to get a decent picture of!!
There is no mess more beautiful than the mess created in the living room on Christmas!

The girls were excited to get season passes to Splash Kingdom for the second year in a row! (and I got one too!)

Between our Six Flags season passes from Graddy and our Splash Kingdom passes from Pops and Memaw- we will be busy bees this summer! I love it!!
Brenna was really excited about her stamp set too!

Macie was way too fast to capture decent pictures of. But they both got gift cards from Aunt Emily, Uncle Joey, and Wyatt for Chuck E Cheese! And we used them on New Year's eve.... that's a separate post coming up later! (I will get caught up from the holidays.... I WILL.... someday)
Uncle Josh helped Wyatt figure out his new nerf bow-

After the kids finished, we sent them out to play while the adults opened our gifts. Lots of great gifts were exchanged. Lots of laughs were shared. And lots of memories were made.
But there was one special gift stole the show. And it was my gift.
As I opened my gift from Emily and Joey, I had no idea what I was opening. I pulled out this pillow...

And I commented on how cute and original it was. Emily said "Do you know what that is made of?" I had no idea and said no. To which she responded "It's one of your Mom's shirts." Y'all- you could have knocked me over with a feather. I was speechless. All I could do was cry. What a thoughtful thing to do!! And she wrote a poem to go with it. I will share the poem at a later date.
As I was asking her how she got it and where she found it and she explained it was one of her shirts and she got it from her closet, I said that I thought it was a pair of her pajamas. Emily said that no, it was hanging on a hanger like a shirt. Suddenly Josh said that he thought it was the pajamas she wore to our house LAST Christmas... her last Christmas. So the search was on... I had to find the picture. And, sure enough, I found this...

Oh my- just seeing that made the pillow even MORE special than it already was. Then a few days later, this picture popped up on my TimeHop app...

It was taken on January 11, 2011.
There would be no way Emily could have picked a more perfect shirt to have turned into a pillow. It was a shirt that she wore to cuddle her two favorite little girls. It was a shirt that is etched in my memory of the last Christmas morning that Mom was at our house to watch the girls open presents. A day that was so very hard because we knew how sick she was and that our time was limited. Yet it was a day that was so very special because she was STILL there with us. And I am sure this shirt has many more memories that will pop up in the months and years to come. Now it sits on my bed as a constant reminder of the amazing Mother I was blessed to love and be loved by. Thank you Emily for this most special gift. You have no idea what it means to me.

Christmas at Aunt Kim's

Christmas afternoon we went over to Aunt Kim's to have Christmas with them. Not having Mom here at Christmas was hard all the way around. But not having her here while we celebrated with Aunt Kim and Nina was extremely hard. So many things were different. Not bad- just a different kind of Christmas. But we all put on our smiles and forged on for the sake of 2 little girls- and for ourselves. One -very hard- lesson I've learned this year is that just because Mom is gone doesn't mean we can stop living, too. True- we are heartbroken. We hurt. We grieve. Some days we want to sit in the darkness and not face reality. But we must learn to deal with those things while also trying to figure out this new normal that is now our life. We must learn that it is ok to move forward. It is ok to smile. It's ok to live life. And it's ok to enjoy the life we have been given. It's not easy. Sometimes I wonder if people look at us and think "oh, they are smiling and enjoying life. They must not be hurting or missing her any more." That couldn't be farther from the truth. We are just learning to live with a missing piece in our heart. And learning to navigate our new normal.
We arrived at Aunt Kim's just in time for lunch! Everyone else was already there, including James' parents, kids and grandkids! We had a full house of loud and chaos.... just as Christmas should be! Aunt Kim and James and Nina had prepared a huge meal of ham and all the fixings. It was wonderful!!
After we all finished eating, it was PRESENT TIME!! The girls were a big help in passing out all of the presents to everyone. I was so proud of them for being such great helpers and being patient! After everything was passed out, it was finally their turn!
The first thing they opened was from our "German cousin" Alessa!

She always sends them real German chocolate from Germany! It's one of their favorite treats!!
They got a ton of great gifts from Aunt Kim, Uncle James, Kyson, and Nina! Some of the highlights (that I was able to capture pictures of)...
New dresses from Aunt Kim- complete with matching bows and tights! She knows the way to our hearts!!

And new bibles from Nina!

I didn't realize until recently that the girls didn't have real bibles. They had several kids bibles and story bibles, but not a real bible to look up scripture in. And Brenna had been asking for one to take to Sunday School. And of course when Brenna asks for something, so does her little sister! So Nina came through for them!
Macie was sure to thank her with a huge hug!

They got various other gifts, such as Texas Tech shirts from Kyson, but I somehow managed to not get any pictures. I need to hire a personal photographer to take pictures during Christmas! I seem to be too busy to take enough.
I do love this one of Nina and I!

She is the hardest person to shop for- other than maybe Josh. I thought and thought about what I could get her that she would USE. And finally I came up with a Yeti cup for her water at work!! So I ordered the monogram to go on it, and then set out to find the cup. That was a big mistake. I had no idea that Yeti cups were THE gift this year! I had also decided to get one for Uncle James! UGH! I posted on facebook asking for help finding one, and got a ton of comments- but still couldn't find any cups. Then one day, I got a phone call from a friend telling me that one store had just gotten a shipment in of them!! YEA! I drove straight there and got two of the last few they had. People were already in line to get them! Holy moly! Next time I get a brilliant idea for a gift, I am going to make sure it isn't the hot ticket item of the year!!
After presents and some visiting, we decided to head home. We were exhausted from getting up so early and just needed some down time.
I snapped this one of Macie and Kyson before we left-

Yep- they wore flip flops on Christmas day!! Who knew that it would snow 3 days later.....
After we got home, we all needed to just sit and chill. The weather was nice. So the back porch was calling our name! The girls enjoyed the fire that Josh built.

And Josh and I watched tv on the porch. It was a great end to the day.
The best part of the night was watching Macie try to skate on her new skates from Santa. I mentioned that she needed a walker to hold on to.... and MeMawMom came through for us! This was her walker that Josh and I kept in case someone needed it at one point. It came in super handy for Miss Macie! (and her crazy hair!)

But we all had to be in bed early because we still had one more Christmas to go the next morning... Pops and Memaw's!!

Christmas Morning

He's been here! He's been here! Santa Claus been here!
(Can you name that movie?? Probably not. It's a quote from one of my all time favorite movies! "Your's Mine and Ours" with Lucille Ball! I used to say that all the time to Mom, but she was the only one that knew what I was talking about.)
The view of our living room when we woke up Christmas morning- at the crack of DAWN! (Well- technically it was BEFORE the crack of dawn. Graddy was supposed to be there at 6:30, so by 6:15, I was up and getting dressed and coffee made!)

Macie's loot was on the left, and Brenna's on the right. Macie asked Santa for a bouncy seat for her babies, and Brenna asked for a MC2 science kit. They both got their wish!! Plus a whole bunch of other stuff- including new skates for both girls! Way to go Santa!
Graddy arrived a little before 7, which is our tradition. Mom and Dad have always been at our house on Christmas morning to watch the girls open presents and see their Santa stuff. I can't remember a Christmas when they weren't at our house before the kids got up. Even the year that it was solid ice...they were there bright and early! It's my favorite tradition.
We finally couldn't take it anymore and woke the girls up about 7:10! (We are worse than kids!!) I just can't stand the thought of them waking up and seeing their Santa presents and us missing the expressions on their faces, so we are always up early!
Headed in to see their loot!

They insisted on wearing their elf hats to open presents. And they looked darn cute in them too!!

After we took some time to look at and play with Santa toys, we passed out presents. Josh and I don't really buy for each other at Christmas. We would rather spend our money on the girls! And I wouldn't have it any other way!
We had them open the BIG box first! Josh had been telling them about one of their presents that they were going to be SO excited about, and it was killing them to find out. They tore into it and started pulling stuff out like Mickey Mouse ears, Disney cups, Disney Calendars, Minnie Mouse Pajamas, Minnie Mouse tshirts, Minnie Mouse bows...... I figured for sure they would figure it out!!!! But no such luck. They were beginning to act like "what's the big deal? I thought you said we were going to LOVE this present." So we finally told them to look at June in their calendars. Brenna flipped hers open to January and read "5 months till Disney" then to February and read "4 months till DISNEY" and each month she got a little louder. And finally on June she read "Leave for Disney World!" And this was her reaction...

Macie was excited too, but I'm not sure she was as excited as Brenna. She doesn't quite grasp the concept of Disney World- but she will! I'm so excited that I can't hardly stand it!!!

This was also in their big box...

We're coming to see you Minnie!!!
From there we let the girls open the rest of their gifts. It takes a while because we make them open one at a time. I love getting to see the reaction to each gift they get. That is what makes Christmas for me. And I love that it forces them to slow down and enjoy each moment.
They got Pink converse from Mimi!

Another thing that we try to do each year is take each girl separately and let them pick out a gift for her sister. This year, we split up and I took Macie and Josh took Brenna. Macie and I went to Walmart and she picked out an Ever After doll for Brenna. B LOVED it!! Josh and Brenna went to Target and she picked out a big playdoh set for Macie. Pretty sure she had ulterior motives of getting to play with it herself! LOL!

And this is what happened after they opened their gifts to each other...

Melt me!!!! But don't be fooled.... this scene doesn't happen often. That's why I snapped a picture!
Next up they wanted Josh and I to open up our presents from them! They got me exactly what I asked for- a 6 ft phone charger!! YEA!! But my biggest gift was Josh being off for Christmas Day. It was his scheduled day, and I had major anxiety about being home alone on my first Christmas without Mom. And being the amazing husband that he is... he found a way to pay someone to work for him so that he could be home with me all day. He will never fully know how much that meant to me. It was the best gift ever.
The girls picked out a new Nike bag for their Daddy to put his clothes in when he travels. They were so proud of themselves for picking it out! They also got him a remote control car for all three of them to play with. I loved watching the pride in their eyes as they watched us open our gifts.

One of Josh's stocking gifts that I was super proud of....

SIDS hot dog relish! Straight from El Reno Oklahoma!
Probably my most favorite gift for the girls was memory books of them and MeMawMom. I put together picture books of pictures of each girl with MeMawMom. Their book was tailored to them. The only problem was I forgot to warn Josh that they were opening them, and he was a little blindsided (insert emotions). They LOVED them!! Brenna looked at hers for the longest time. I expected her to like it. But I didn't expect her to cry. She ended up in my lap in tears. That sweet girl misses her BFF something fierce. There were lots of tears shed over the holidays from her. It broke my heart, but I was glad she could get her emotions out. I love that they can now look at these precious memories any time that they want.

Graddy also got a special gift this year. Josh found a rasp (something for woodworking) in a toolbox that was Papaw's and had a custom knife made out of it for Dad!
Here it is in the process of making..

I think Josh succeeded in getting a gift that blew Dad away! There was silence and a lot of "wow"s.
Graddy and his knife...

Graddy also succeeded in getting us all something we LOVE.... Season passes to SIX FLAGS!!! The girls were beyond thrilled!! We can't wait to use them this summer and have tons of fun!
After we opened presents, Pops and Memaw came over to check out what the girls got for Christmas and for Breakfast. This is another tradition. We have done this since the girls were little, and they haven't missed too many years of coming over for Christmas morning breakfast. This year we invited Aunt Emily and Wyatt to come over and eat with us since Joey was at the fire station. Our menu was "Billycakes". It is a fire station recipe from Josh's former boss named Billy! From scratch pancakes! YUMMY!!!
While Josh cooked breakfast, Graddy helped his Shortcake skate!

I think these three approved of the menu!

And a family selfie...

I love these people with my whole heart.
It was a great morning. Pops and Memaw headed out to go visit Granny, and Emily and Wyatt headed out to the fire station to eat with Joey. Dad hung around for a while and we all just chilled and relaxed and enjoying BEING TOGETHER. That's what it's really all about- being together. I had a lot of anxiety about Christmas this year. It was Mom's favorite holiday. She always did Christmas up right and enjoyed every moment. I did my best to follow in her footsteps and not left a memory unmade. While I would have much rather skipped Christmas all together this year and not thought about it at all, I knew we couldn't do that. Mom wouldn't WANT us to do that! She wanted everyone happy and having a good time, and that's what we did! We enjoyed ourselves. We laughed. We cried. We missed her. Yet we brought her to everything with us...in our hearts and on our minds. She was talked about A LOT, and I wouldn't have it any other way!! My Mama will always be a part of who I am, and I will make sure that her memory and legacy live on forever!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

As soon as we left Pops and Memaw's house, it was time to head home and get ready for the Big Guy in the red suit to pay us a visit!!
The girls were so excited! They had been keeping track of Santa on Brenna's ipad through the Santa Tracker app all evening. I mean... seriously. A Santa tracker app??!! When we were kids...back in the olden days as my kids say... you would lay in bed and listen for the sound of sleigh bells! And in my opinion, that was way more fun than an app on an ipad!
As soon as we got home, the girls changed into their new Christmas pajamas from Aunt Bit. Our first item on the agenda was to put out the reindeer food! This tradition started for us a few years ago when my friend Alice told me about doing it with her grandkids. I mentioned what a neat tradition it was, and the next thing I knew, she delivered us a reindeer hay sack, 2 elf hats, a bucket to keep it all in, and MAGIC REINDEER HAY! And every year, her daughter Donna sends us new hay! I have the best friends- ever!
You can tell how excited Josh is to be taking a selfie with us! ha! Sorry babe- it's a necessity!

The girls love spreading the hay!

Aren't they the cutest elves you've ever seen!?!
Next we went in to listen to MeMawMom and Graddy read "The Night Before Christmas".

I am so thankful that Mom and Dad decided to do this book for the girls several years ago. I can't remember what year is was. It was either the year before she got sick, or the first Christmas after she was diagnosed. When we listened to it last year, I bawled. Even though Mom was still here with us last year, hearing her voice the way it used to be broke my heart. It reminded me of the real her. The her before she was so sick. It also was a wake up to the harsh reality of just how sick she was last Christmas. When you are living it day in and day out, you don't notice how bad it has gotten for the most part. But hearing her voice made it brutally clear just how sick she was.
And this year wasn't much better. The sound of her voice made me miss her so much more than I already did. However, it was SO good to hear her voice. I long to hear it. And even though it hurts, I am so thankful to have this book with her voice on it.
Next up- Cookies for Santa!

We baked chocolate chip cookies earlier in the day, and they brought home oatmeal cookies from Memaw's house. Santa got one of each! And a glass of milk. I tried to convince them that Santa liked coke... but it was a no go! LOL They even left Chris a cookie! And both Santa and Chris got notes. Below are the pictures of the notes AND the replies that Santa and Chris left for the girls!

And of course we couldn't go to bed without checking just to see if Santa was up there yet!

And with that- it was time for bed! Santa was getting close to the U.S. and we didn't want to be awake when he got there!!