Christmas, in Three Parts

I married into a blended family, with all the love and flexibility that comes along with it. I love all the in-laws that come with the extra families, and even my closest friends get confused when I talk about J's sisters. He has 4, you know, and 3 brothers. They just keep coming. I haven't even met them all (although, in fairness, the one I haven't met has unusual circumstances). So I say all that to say this: Here is our Christmas, in Three Parts.

Christmas, Movement 1

We went to Amarillo, where J's mother met us for an early Christmas. Both of us were glad we bought the tickets before we were laid off from work. It was good to see J's mom, step-dad, and grandmother. We were there for 4 short days. Amarillo tried to impress us by setting record lows while we were there. All I have to say is, Brrr. I don't remember it being that cold when we lived in Lubbock. But it must have been. . . .

While we were there we blew up grandma's old microwave. It was much less exciting than it looks in print. So, Merry Christmas, Grandma. You get a new microwave for Christmas.

While we were in Amarillo, we got to spend a little time with J's two uncles and aunts. We went over to Ronnie's house on Sunday, watched football games back to back to back, and talked all afternoon.

We celebrated early with this family, complete with a Christmas dinner. They know we're not huge turkey fans, so we had ham there, instead. Yum! Everyone was in the kitchen, getting in everyone else's way. It's my kind of holiday. We also had a small gift exchange, with just the five of us. Budgets were tight, since, of course, J had been told he had a job 24 hours before we boarded a plane, and J's step-dad was laid off just after I was. So Christmas was nice and low-key with this group. I can't wait to get my new clock J's step-dad made. The photos are lovely, and Bill does such good work.

We left Amarillo on the 23rd, and flew back to Dallas. The original plan had been for me to work on the 24th, but since my bosses decided I didn't have to work for them that day (or ever), we decided to stay in Dallas for a few extra days.

For more on this Christmas, click here.

Chrismas, Movement 2

For this Christmas, we went to J's sister-in-law's house, near where my parents live. This Christmas dinner was actually on Christmas. We had a turkey with all the trimmings, and all J's local family was there. We stayed several hours and got caught up with the kids and the grown-ups over dinner. The downer here, I forgot my camera. Grrr. So there will be no photos posted of this Christmas with J's dad, step-mom, and all the brothers, sisters, neices, nephews, and extended family. There were 13 of us there. Thank you, Lori, for being a gracious host to all of us, both for Thanksgiving, and Christmas. We really enjoy it!

Christmas, Movement 3

We celebrated Christmas on the 26th this year. Bartalie (that's Hollywood speak for Bart and Natalie, my brother and sister-in-law) came up with the AB-ster on the 26th and we opened presents and had Christmas dinner when they got there. Never fear, we celebrated birthdays on the 27th. Everything got bumped back a day, but we fit it all in. We're suckers for cake and ice cream.

Back to Christmas. We had a wonderful Christmas on the 26th. Mom out did herself with the yummy food and being with family is wonderful, even if it is my kid brother.

We all went to church together Sunday AM, which I love. This was the first time for AB to go to mom and dad's church, and both of them were introducing her to their friends. More like showing her off (and how could you not?) I called dibbs on her during church, and we rocked and patted together for an hour. She slept the whole time, and I wasn't cold at all in their church. Having a 3 month old heater really helps.

J and I came back home Monday. It had been 12 days since we left, and we were ready to come back. We have some last minute projects to finish up before he goes to work next week. I said, before he goes to work next week. If you want to see my husband smile, remind him he goes to work next week. He's pumped, and has himself motivated to finish projects around the house. It's easier to get stuff done when you have a deadline.

So that's our three part Christmas. We hope you had a wonderful holiday as well, and that your new year is blessed!