Merry Stressless Christmas To Us!

I was so excited about Christmas this year, for more than one reason. First, it has always been my favorite holiday. Second, my ten-year-old still believes in Santa (bonus!). Third, my four-year-old was SUPER excited, more so this year than any other year and definitely more excited than I was. I didn't think that was possible.

I thought for sure this Christmas was going to be a bust. Aaron's parents agreed not to have Christmas at their house this year and my Grandma was in a lot of pain from an injury that occurred not too long ago and decided to stay home. I didn't want to miss another holiday with her (we cancelled our Thanksgiving) and I knew I would regret not seeing her again. I figured those two setbacks were just a couple of hiccups and something we could easily work around.

We did! Aaron's parents came to our annual PJ Christmas get-together and my little family went to my Grandma's house to visit with her after the party came to a close. I think what scared me the most is when my oldest sister whispered, "This could be Grandma's last Christmas so I stopped over before coming to your house." It's devastating to think about or even talk about, but she was right. I had already planned to go over there since she couldn't make it but once my sister mentioned the obvious (or at least the possibility) it became a huge priority. So I packed up her gifts and some food and spent a little time with her for the holiday. I'm so happy she was able to see the boys. I felt a sense of peace come over me. At that point, I knew I did the right thing.

Oh, and I found a way I can post my watermark-free photos without worrying about someone using my kids or pictures as their own (yes, people steal kids on the internet too). Internapping or netnapping, perhaps? Eh, whatever. Regardless, I feel better about saving some time on photos and spending more of my valuable time doing something else. Hey, works for me!

First, Christmas morning.