i drove up to sacramento on thursday, after my last blog. traffic was a freaking nightmare. as much as i know that So Cal is where i'm supposed to be, the enormous number of people down here is starting to drive me crazy. anyways, it took me 2 and a half hours to get 60 miles. not fun. it didn't help that i was anxious to just be hoooome. but, what i had prayed for was a safe trip, not a quick trip, and if i had to pick one out of two, safety would be preferred, so i can't complain.
coming home was amazing. brett wrapped me up in a great big bear hug and the dogs ran to the door to greet me and the house smelled like cinnamon apple deliciousness. we all hugged and everyone went outside to check out my new car and bring my one million bags in. after that, we sat around the family room floor and talked and caught up. it was wonderful. that time with my family is so special.
Christmas Eve morning. my stepbrother, joe, came into town, and most of the family had breakfast together. i helped my mom wrap up her cookie platters, and then ran some errands with brett. we stopped by kyle's work to bother him a bit, :) then went to the mall. i got my eyebrows waxed while brett looked for a beanie. after that, we mobbed home and talked and belted out steven curtis chapman. it was nice to have that time with him.
once i got home, i picked up joe, and it was back to the mall. i helped him finish up his Christmas shopping for my mom and doug, then came home and wrapped his and my gifts. kyle got home from work shortly after that, and we practiced the song i was going to sing Christmas night. mostly, we laughed more than we practiced, but it was fun. :)
daniel (my other stepbrother) arrived with his friend, john, and the whole family had dinner together before heading out to Christmas Eve service at East Valley.
the service was okay, i thought it was pretty standard and the worship was average, but i was just happy the whole family was together. all 9 of us, haha. after the service, we came home and my mom made hot chocolate for everyone. we sat around the kitchen and john and daniel started this game, "the valley of the green glass doors." it was a riddle type of game and i was the last person to figure it out, haha. after that, we put in a Christmas story
and went to bed around 9:30.
Christmas was wonderful. i woke up early and showered and helped my mom set everything up. we opened stockings by the fire
and had the delicious Christmas breakfast we always have. after breakfast, we moved into the living room to open gifts. i read mary's prayer, a poem by max lucado and shared with my family what i had written in my last post, about Jesus coming as He deserved. then, we opened gifts and i got some pretty amazing ones: eclipse, the first season of it's always sunny, a cabbage patch doll who i named Sophia Marie :) she's pretty adorable. and then i got this amazing vintage suitcase from my little sister.
my entire room is decorated in paris stuff and this suitcase has paris pictures all over it. it's gorgeous, i absolutely love it. i also got a stepladder that my stepdad made and my mom painted :) it's beautiful.
i've never had anyone make me something like that before, i love it so much.
the rest of the day i spent watching Christmas movies with john, daniel, and joe. a muppet christmas carol, charlie brown christmas, and jingle all the way. john left after that to drive back up to arcata, so we said good-bye to him, then headed to my grandma and grandpa's for Christmas dinner shortly after.
there were 21 people at my grandparents’ house on Christmas night. twenty. one.
(only a small part of the group)
it was packed, but awesome. we had dinner, opened gifts, sang songs, and watched Christmas jib-jabs.
the day after Christmas, i got coffee with kate early in the morning and we caught up for a couple hours. it was amazing to see her :) i went home after that and around noon, all the aunts, uncles and cousins came over to see my other grandpa.
(how cute is he??)
everyone had a nice lunch, and we talked and laughed by the fire for awhile.
being that we only see that grandpa once a year, i really cherish the time he spends with us for Christmas. only a few short hours later, my grandpa left, along with the rest of my extended family. it was just our immediate family once again and it was now my turn to say good-bye.
it was hard to leave my family this time and i cried for awhile as i drove down the freeway. we're all best friends, i feel like, and it's hard to be separated from that. at the same time, the time i do have with them is precious and is never taken for granted. i am so very blessed :)
(from left to right: daniel, brett, kyle, and joe in the back.
amberly, me, mom and doug in the front)
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