**Fair warning--this is a marathon long post to document all of our Christmas Fun!**
About 12 hours after we returned home from our "
Babymoon", Mr. & Mrs. Claus pulled up in their sleigh.
Even Maddie was wondering what was going on there were so many presents now under the tree!
Don't worry Maddie--there were quite a few for you!
She. likes. Christmas. I. Promise.
We were blessed with many, many gifts we can't even begin to put it all into words. We are truly grateful.
Mom surprised me with my Peter Rabbit tea set. Yes, it's 31 years old and has been in her china cabinet for as long as I remember. It's now our turn to have tea parties.
Not a Smith Christmas without new pajamas!
And our last surprise--that all I have to say is now we can deliver this baby and be debt free. There aren't words to describe how grateful we are!
And well. We had to finish the night playing last years Christmas present on this years Christmas present.
They were here for less than 24 hours, but such a huge blessing. I was grateful to get to see them during the Christmas season and was incredibly thankful they made the drive for such a short period of time.
The week of Christmas I spent some good quality time with my 8th grade girls (for those wondering--yes my job title is "all girls", but I am actually a cell group leader for the 8th grade girls. I've had them since the 6th grade and can't believe in just a few short months they will be in high school!)
Christmas Eve:
Mom brought the Smith traditional Christmas morning ham rolls for us and put them in our freezer. We pulled 'em out and had them for Christmas Eve together. On fine china of course. With homemade hot chocolate in our fancy Christmas mugs.
Then came the stockings:
Our Christmas Present to each other,
bookshelves! :)
Christmas with Katie:
Maddie loves Katie.
How I managed to not get any Christmas pictures from actual Christmas Eve, I have no idea. We made a really nice meal for each other and ate at about 3, then headed to the church at 4. Immediately after the 6:00 service, we loaded the pup and headed to Perry.
Christmas Day in Perry:
Robert in his "spot"
It was the year of big surprises!
Robert got everything he needed for his
what Robert calls it: Study Area
what Kristin calls it: Man Nook
So excited for him to have this space designated to study for Law School
We were blessed again in many ways. We got our car seat--which is a huge relief knowing if nothing else, we can have the baby and legally bring him or her home!
Somehow Christmas day I failed to get pictures of the family at Mimi and Dindi's house and managed to not get a picture of the two of us. So the day after Christmas we took this picture:
We came home Monday morning to find snow in Atlanta. We may have missed the Atlanta White Christmas, but there was still some to play in. If I only knew what was coming a short 2 weeks later...
A nice surprise when we got back was to find out Heather was still in Atlanta. Her and I are on the same in-law rotation, so anytime she comes to Atlanta for holidays, I'm in Perry and we miss each other each time. I was pleasantly surprised to find out she was still here and headed my way. We then went to pick up our friend Melissa and went over to the Daily Grind together. A great way to spend the afternoon! It was encouraging to be in the presence of these two mighty woman of God (and Baby Mazie too!)
Random picture I know, but had to show you what a difference 3 years can make! My mom bought us these (3 years apart) and they even look like the same figures...I wish you could see the cute little baby bump better!
My friend Sarah came to town! She is a
missionary in Mozambique and comes home every December. We meet up each year around Christmas and I treasure the time I get to have with her. Sarah is in the middle, Kristen is on the left. Both of these girls were a huge blessing to me my last year in college--the year I surrendered my life to Jesus. Kristen is from Marietta and I've loved getting to have her back in my life once again. Kristen was on my very first mission trip (which was to Costa Rica) and then she came to visit me while I was there for 3 months during my first year out of college. I am very, very grateful for these girls!
My dear friend Dana also came to town during the week. She is a huge blessing in my life--also from my final year at UGA. We didn't know each other when we moved in, but quickly became best friends. She was with
my dear friend Katie when she passed away and I love how the Lord has given us a precious friendship through hardship. She has recently moved from Athens to Kansas City and our time together was short, but I was grateful to get any minute I could hang out with this girl!
Well if you've made it to the end of this post, thank you! It was a great restful week with friends and family. We are truly grateful for the many ways the Lord has blessed us!
