Tuesday, December 25, 2012

and so it is Christmas.....

And so, it is here... the magical 24 hours of Christmas, and I am excited and very blessed. Time to be spent with the most important people of my life, memories to make and the joy of it all. I should take a lesson from these two, taking a little snooze, resting up.. waiting... but, I can't, there's too much "to do" and I want
to do it all.....

Christmas eve we went to Kass and Nate's church. It was a nice service, good message, lots of songs... quiet... a perfect way to begin.


 
Rylie went with us, she's an old pro at church, but I thought it would be good for her to attend a "new" church. People hardly knew she was there, and I heard many surprise comments of "oh look, she has a dog".. or "hey kids, there's a helper dog here at church". She was very well behaved.. I was proud of her.









After church, we went to my sister's Becky... all the family met there. She has a cute little place and it was cozy.



Her hubby, Ed, made the most wonderful home made pizza... then there were great desserts to go with it. Everything was going so well...until... I started not feeling too good. I tried not to believe it.. being sick over Christmas.. NOT my idea!!!!








Christmas morning I crawled out of bed.. I seriously thought of climbing right back in, I did not feel well at all. But, I am such a fan of Christmas.. and I wasn't about to miss all that time with my family.. I decided to muddle threw. We packed up our gifts, and went to Kass and Nate's.. (our old home).. I figured I could "go slow" and just enjoy the day.





Kas made a nice breakfast for everyone, which included Deb, Dave and Sean... my Mom and Dad.. Sadie, Jesse and Abbie.. and Ed and I. We exchanged gifts.. laughed, ate and had a wonderful time together.









Rylie seemed to enjoy all the excitement, she sat and watched Abbie open her presents for the longest time. She didn't try to get into anything, just watched... (can you tell what a good puppy she is)









But she was much happier when Abbie left her new things for a bit, and played with with her. They are still the best of buds... Rylie adores Abbie....










Afterwards, we had a few quiet moments.. (I was pretty glad about that).. I even caught my Ed and Cam taking a little quiet time before we headed off to my Mom and Dad's....









I admit, I do miss my little house every so often.. so, it's such a pleasure to be able to come back to it and spend happy times together. It's in good hands and owned by people who love it, like I did....








Puppy face!!!


The afternoon and early evening was spent again with family. My Mom and Dad prepared a great meal... we had fun eating (again) and visiting....









The "kids" table doesn't have any little ones anymore... but next year that will begin to change... baby Reagan will be joining us!!!!











And another beautiful tree.. with it's goodies waiting for us....













And the excitement begins all again......













Abbie and Naomi are so cute together, they're becoming good friends (more than just cousins)... I'm glad that they'll have the chance to grow up together.









Becky, Mom and Amy.....













Presents, of course, are fun.. but truly, there's nothing like having the whole family together. That's where the real treasure lies....










And all too soon, it seems.. the day comes to an end. Tired children (and adults) a farm to get back to, animals to tend.. another wonderful Christmas has come and gone...


and sadly, I am happy to return home.. because... this gal is sick and my bed is calling...


but, to quote.... Merry Christmas to all.. and to all a good night...