Post Christmas Post

Hope you all had a great Christmas. Ours was very nice. I'm getting so emotional in my old age. I can barely make it through the Christmas Eve service at church without getting choked up. So many different emotions were going on. I was happy because my mom is doing so much better and was able to come to church. (After having chemo just hours before - she's so strong!) I had been so afraid that she was not going to be able to enjoy Christmas this year. I haven't really gone into detail about it here, but long story short, her cancer has spread a bit and that kind of threw her into an emotional tailspin. She was struggling with anxiety for a few weeks and it was tough. I hate to see her so out of it like that. Anyway, I had been praying that she would be able to enjoy Christmas and I think she really did. So, I was emotional about that. Also, I have been going to SSBC since I was born and feel like it is really an extension of my family. Looking around at all the familiar faces and thinking about how much of my life has been spent in that sanctuary made me feel so blessed. And to have both of my kids and my husband with me made it extra special. And then there was the music. Can't make it through many songs without getting teary lately. Silent Night always gets me.
Christmas Morning was fun. I was able to get a smaller set of blocks and some accessories to go with it. The kids had fun opening their gifts and responded better than they did with their stockings. We try not to get too many gifts - one big gift, one smaller gift and a book. It's hard for me to stop myself, but I'm glad we do it that way. They are able to enjoy what they get. We had a nice time opening and then we had enough time for the kids to play with their blocks before we headed to my parents' house.
Mcloud Christmas was a little different this year. My mother gave us all an envelope of money to buy our own gifts and then she wrapped them and we all opened our gifts as usual. It was fun to see what we all picked out for ourselves. Here are the favorites from Grammie - Morgan got a Fur Real Kitty (which I think is a bit frightening) and Oliver got a jackhammer (which I think is a bit loud).After brunch and gifts we hung out for a while and then in the afternoon we had appetizers and did a wine tasting. Everyone brought a different wine (or two) and we sampled each kind. I don't think any of them really went with the buffalo chicken dip I was eating.
It was a little strange not going to my aunt's house and eating pasta, but I did enjoy not having to pack up the kids a million times and rush them out. It was a nice, low key family Christmas. How was yours?
Next up...ideas for keeping my kids busy in the next few days of no school and no work.