Christmas Celebrations!

I can't believe Christmas has already come and gone!  It seems like we were just sitting down to our Thanksgiving dinner last week!  I sure hope time slows down so I can enjoy every moment of these fantastic holidays!  Our first Christmas couldn't have been better :) Attempting to evenly split time between both families on Christmas Eve was a little difficult but we made it work in the end and had a lot of fun.  We ate dinner at Logan's sister's house with his family and it was delicious.  (Well done, April!) After hanging out for a while after dinner we made a beeline for my parent's house and had a great time singing Christmas songs, reading the story of Christ's birth and exchanging gifts with the siblings and cousins.  There's nothing like family traditions on the holidays!

(Please forgive my lack of pictures from Christmas Eve.  We were so busy running around from family to family that I nearly forgot I even owned a camera!)

We had such a busy Christmas Eve that by the time we got home that night I was exhausted!  I would have loved to watch a Christmas movie with Logan but I could hardly keep my head up any longer so we just ended the night early and went to bed.  I woke up around 6:30 so I could have enough time to get ready for the day and then when Logan woke up around 7:45 we opened our presents :) One of my favorite parts of Christmas growing up was always opening our stockings and I loved it again this year!  

Logan completely spoiled me and I couldn't have asked for anything better!  There's a section of our apartment that is pretty dark so I've been wanting a lamp for a while and Logan picked one out himself and surprised me with it!  I must say I am impressed that he ventured out and got one because I know many guys wouldn't have dared.

My cute hubby also got me a new robe (I LOVE robes and mine was getting pretty old!), some perfume and of course a children's book to add to my collection :)  Those are a few of the best gifts he showered me with!  I definitely wasn't as creative as Logan was but I still had a great time shopping for him.  He has now added some new cuff links, Jazz accessories for his car, Jazz PJ pants, Zelda & Planet Earth to his collection of possessions.  Maybe next year I'll bring my game up to his standard!

I thought he'd feel pretty cool using this notebook at school!

After opening presents together and setting up our awesome new lamp, we headed over to my parent's 9:30 church meeting.  My mom narrated the Christmas program and did an amazing job!  Anyone that knows my mom also knows that she has a gift of public speaking (or just speaking in general).  One of the young men in the ward said afterwards that if he could choose anyone to narrate his life he would want it to be either Morgan Freeman or Janet Rowley.  That just about sums up how great the meeting was!  It doesn't happen often where we have the opportunity to go to Church on Christmas and I am SO glad Logan and I went!  I know I often forget to remember the true meaning of Christmas in the wake of the presents and delicious food so I am very grateful for the reminder I received this Christmas by going to church.

As soon as church was over we ran home and changed and then headed straight over to my parent's house to open our presents from them to all of us kids.  I had a few surprises and a few things I knew I was getting and loved all of it!  My highlight was probably the new boots I got and Logan's was definitely his fancy electric razor!  He loves it!

We spent the rest of the afternoon at my parent's house hanging out, eating my mom's famous Christmas Brunch with all of the cousins and watching basketball (Finally!).  Around 4 o'clock we took off and went to be with Logan's family at his aunt and uncle's house.  We had a delicious dinner and loved seeing everyone and many thanks to Logan's parents we are now Costco members!  I think I'll have to contain Logan just a bit!

We made it back home around 9 o'clock and loved the peace and quiet of our own little home.  I am so grateful for my husband and both of our families that made Christmas so memorable!  I am already looking forward to next year!  We have had such a fun time celebrating long and hard during the holidays but it looks like tonight (New Year's Eve) is going to be a quiet evening at home.  Both Logan and I are under the weather and don't have much energy to go out.  I know that doesn't sound like the most exciting evening but we're both looking forward to bringing in the new year!  I have a feeling 2012 will be a great year for us!  Happy new year to you all!