Last Christmas as Two

Jeremy and I have spent our last Christmas as a family of two. We really enjoyed seeing our family and friends at Christmas time. It was a lot of traveling but we made it.

The weekend before Christmas we traveled to Decatur to see Aunt Nellie, Uncle Tommy, and Pat. Tony and Gina were in town as well. "Bean" got his/her first Christmas present. Aunt Nellie got Bean a cute Christmas blanket and stuffed toy. After a night of food and "Are you Smarter Than a Fifth Grader", Tony, Gina, Jeremy and I headed to Birmingham to spend the night. Since there are no mattresses left in the Birmingham house, Tony and Gina got to sleep on the air mattress. Jeremy and I got the closest thing to a bed, because of Bean, and slept on a pull-out futon.

Early Saturday we headed to Mema's for an extended family Christmas gathering. It was good seeing all the cousins. It was the biggest crowd that we have had for some time. After many gifts and a round of "Name that Christmas Song" Pictionary, Jeremy and I headed back to Montgomery.

Our weekend was still not over because we went downtown that evening to see one of Jeremy's really good friends who was in from D.C., Chris. Chris and his fiance Shelby had an engagement party and we made it for the after-party. I just sipped Sprite and Water and ran to the bathroom many times throughout the evening.

On Christmas Eve we spent the evening with our dear neighbor friends, Auvie and Yung, who are SO excited about Bean's arrival. Jeremy and I started a tradition last Christmas where we make soup for Christmas Eve. The reason behind it is to have a meal that doesn't take long to prepare or clean up so we can spend more time together. We decided this year that we would share our soup tradition with our friends. I made tomato basil soup, served in bread bowls, and salad. It was yummy! We then played a 'friendly' game of Scrabble. Auvie is a very good word-smith and challenged two of my words so I ended the game with negative points. Jeremy got lucky on a few words (like getting 15 points for a strategically placed "We") and lost by only two points. It was a fun evening.

On Christmas Day we traveled to Rainsville, AL and had early dinner with Jeremy's family. There was a huge crowd of 40 or so. It was a bit overwhelming but I should be accustomed to it by now. There is never a crowd under 25 there. Our Christmas quickly came to an end because we both had to work the very next day. Governor Riley decided not to let us off work for an extra day this Christmas. I understand his reasoning though, it would cost an extra 3 million dollars for an extra holiday. He let us off on Black Friday though. I am sure he hated the thought of all those State workers couped up in offices and not spending money in stores.

Jeremy and I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. Stay tuned for some excited baby news coming soon.