December 27, 2012
A Christmas to Remember
Well, this year's Christmas Season has come and gone so have my Christmas Decorations. In fact, they went up in record time, the day after Thanksgiving, and I had them down by 3pm on December 26th (Thanks to the help of my parents and sister). Having just bought our house and having lived with my in-laws for 15 months, I did not have a lot of Christmas Decorations so my house was pretty basic. I am hoping to build this up over the next few years.
This Christmas season was one for the keepsakes as it was Luke's FIRST Christmas and our FIRST Christmas spent as a family of FOUR! It is hard to believe but this time last year I didn't even know that my baby was a BOY (Of course, I knew I was pregnant but I didn't know HE was a HE)! I remember spending Christmas 2011 just imagining what 12 months from then would look like. Honestly, it looked alot like what was in my head 12 months ago! I am so very blessed.
This was a "KLINGSICK" holiday meaning we spent the holiday with my parents and sister. However, since we live close (4 streets over) from my in-laws, this was an even more special holiday because we were actually able to spend Christmas Day with BOTH sets of parents. It was so special to be able to see EVERYONE on this special day.
The festivities began when my sister came into town on Saturday. She spent the evening with us and then went with us to Church on Sunday morning and helped me take the kids to see Santa on Sunday (12-23-12). This was so much fun since Natalie is at the perfect age to know who he is. Allison and I were not really exposed to Santa as a child so I was indifferent to the idea of taking our kids to sit on Santa's lap but as Chris reminded me "Why would you deprive any child of that joy?" He made a valid point so I decided to talk to Natalie about Santa and have her go and sit on Santa's lap. This was led by our family mission which is to educate our kids about the REAL meaning of Christmas which is the BIRTH OF JESUS, CHRIST!
My parents arrived on Sunday evening around 10 pm and brought in the MASSIVE amount of gifts they hauled from Arp to Conroe (I still don't know how it all fit and they were able to breathe the whole time)! On Christmas Eve we started the day off with some yummy Cinnamon rolls and Allison, Chris and I began our "Dessert Challenge" for 2012. This is a tradition of the "Klingsicks" since 2010 where all the kids (Allison, Chris and I) participate in a dessert challenge. This year we chose to make cupcakes. As always it was a fun filled day of sweets and treats AND... THIS YEAR I WON (More about that to follow in a separate blog)!
In the afternoon of Christmas Eve, Allison and I took my dad to get a new iPhone. He had the same ANCIENT phone for nearly 3 years and it was time for him to join the 21st Century. This was such a cool experience for me to share with him and I am so excited for him to be able to share the photos and videos with my whole family!
On Christmas Eve we had a tasty version of Pork Tenderloin made by my dad and we started to get ready to open gifts. We gave the kids a bath at 6:30 and at 7 we began opening the KIDS' gifts! There were so many gifts coming both sides of the family and even extended family sent gifts from Wichita, KS. Natalie got some great gifts like a new art easel, an American Girl doll named "Alex", Minnie Mouse shoes, a Daisy Duck, LeadPad and so much more. Baby Luke got some great baby toys too such as: a new "Learning Puppy", a basketball goal, a activity walker and some other toys for his developing mind to play with. The funny thing about all these gifts is that Natalie wants to play with Luke's and Luke wants to play with Natalie's! I guess that is the start of the sibling rivalry! After nearly 1.5 hours, we were done with the kids gifts and we put them to bed!
Luke opening his gifts!
Natalie opening her 3rd round of gifts!
Around 10pm we began opening the adult gifts! Chris and I got some AMAZING gifts this year! We got a Keurig Coffee machine (Even a few days after opening this I am already wondering how I EVER LIVED WITHOUT IT!) and some new bath towels! Chris got a Wii and a Wii Fit Plus, a new briefcase (He has wanted and need for a while now) and lots of other stuff. I got tickets to a Yankee's game in September, a new set of Kitchen Knives, a smore's making machine and lots of other stuff. We really cleaned up and are so grateful to our many family and friends who showered us with love and gifts this Christmas Season!
On Christmas Morning, we all woke up and changed the focus from gifts to Baby Jesus. That is what Christmas is all about and we have made it a point to make Christmas Day ALL ABOUT Him and his virgin birth into the world!
Natalie woke up with a cough and was throwing up a little just from congestion. I immediately went into panic mode but thanks to my dad for spending all morning with her upstairs playing while i could try to cook and play host. After a few hours she was all better and Christmas continued!
For lunch we had Ham, Fried Turkey (It was Chris' BEST YET) and lots of sides. Dan, Jackie and D'Ann came over to celebrate this day with us and as Chris said "This was the best Christmas Ever". Natalie got over her sickness and was able to eat lunch with us and even Luke sat in the room with us as we ate the feast. After lunch we played a game while the kids took naps and then as soon as Natalie woke up we had BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR JESUS! This is a Davis Family (Chris and Kellie) tradition it was super special this year to spend it with not only my parents but Dan and Jackie as well. Even Luke wore a Birthday Hat for Jesus!
After the Birthday Party we settled down enough to get the kids an early bath and then we opened the Stockings that we forgot to open previously. Finally around 9pm we got the kids in bed and were able to do another Family tradition of watching a Christmas Movie all together. This year we watched "Christmas Vacation". My dad had never seen it and that made it special to me!
On Wednesday, December 26, the girls woke up early and went "After Christmas Shopping" while the men stayed home and watched football. This was special too because we were able to spend time together (Natalie included) doing what we love... SHOPPING!
Later that day my parents took Natalie and Luke back to Arp with them for a few days. They needed a little "Grand-baby" time. In fact, I didn't even have to ask them this time. Chris and I had been looking forward to this little vacation for a while and we are excited to be able to spend time together without the kids!
Overall, it was an AWESOME Christmas with my hubby, kiddos and family! I agree with Chris that very well may be our best Christmas yet... But I think they will only get better with time!
I am so very blessed and I thank God each and every day for the amazing blessings He has given me! If it weren't for Him and these blessings, we would not have had the BEST CHRISTMAS EVER! Thank you Lord!
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