Christmas in New York

Right when Scarlett and I returned from Wichita we were thrown into the Christmas family celebrations here in New York. It was such a wonderful weekend.

Saturday morning we woke up happy to be home and in bed with Daddy :-) We talked and laughed and played with him in bed before getting up and going downstairs. We opened gifts and I cant believe how romantic Nicks gifts were for me. He is just not "that" guy, but this time he really was. He had stop to Victoria Sectret for some very lacey, beautiful gifts and he engraved really beautiful wine glasses with our names, our wedding date and "May Our Love Grow More Each Year". I love him so much! He was so excited to give them to me and it really did make me feel so special. I gave Nick an electric razor which he really needed wanted. And he also got an hour of flying lessons and chose to do the helicopter lessons instead of the airplane which I could have guessed. Hes excited and after his Nascar adventure last year I think he will really like it.

Later we went to Pam and Richards (Nicks great Aunts house) for dinner with the Chichester side of the family. They had Buckeyes which are my favorite Christmas dessert so I was a happy girl. That night we went to the Christmas Eve service at the Lutheran Church and said thanks to God for sending us his Son. It was a nice, small service and Scarlett was a little hard to keep quiet (she likes to sing, especially loud during Silent Night) but it was happy noise and I dont think anyone minded. Nick was watching her and smiling and I loved it very much. That night we went back to Beth and Peters just to hang out.

Christmas morning we again woke up in our bed and spent some time together before actually getting up for the day. We then went over to Nicks parents for opening gifts and breakfast. They bought Nick a gun cleaning kit and me a really nice nativity set. I am very happy to finally be able to put on up in my house. I love nativity sets! Scarlett got a walker to keep at Grandpa and Grandmas and a picnic basket with plastic toys for home. At 2 we went to Dan and Julies for dinner and visited and had good food. Later that evening we went to Nicks grandparents house for dessert. There was REALLY good desserts and we all laughed and visited. It was a really nice Christmas. Im so blessed to have all this love surrounding me.

Im going to try and keep this the least amount of corny as I can but Christmas felt a little bit different this year. When I was in labor I had the song "Mary Did You Know" stuck in my head thinking about all that Scarlett was going to bring to all of our lives and we didnt even "know" her yet. SO this Christmas I was reflecting on the Christmas story and what it meant for Mary to travel so pregnant and uncomfortable, the panic Im sure they felt in finding a place to give birth in the middle of labor, and how much love she had for her new baby. This last year just really made the Christmas story feel very real for me this year and I feel a new insight into what it all means. Thank God for his son!