Holly and Jolly in Retrospect

Well, I guess I failed my own blog-everyday-for-30-days challenge. But it was Christmas and we were spending time with family and friends so I'm giving myself some grace :)

We had a great time going back to Seattle for Christmas this year. One of the big highlights was celebrating Christmas with our (almost) 11-month nephew, Jackson. He received at least half of the presents under the tree, but all he really wanted was wrapping paper and Grandma and Grandpa's remote control. The poor guy was working through a horrible cold, but he was still as sweet as ever. Here are some pics:

The paper was the main event for him.

Jackson with Santa's big gift... who doesn't want a dino rocker??

After he opened his gazillion presents...

And to think... next year he'll have a little cousin to play with!

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King of Kings

In highschool I was made to sing the Hallelujah Chorus every Christmas season. Our awesome friend, Lara, found this on YouTube- I prefer it this way much more.

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Humbug

For so many reasons, Christmas just isn't the same for us this year.  There are the crummy reasons (we don't know anyone here, we didn't do any Christmas decorating, it's 60 degrees outside, etc) and the wonderful reasons (we've been looking for a permanent home, we're occupied with becoming parents, Matt started a great job, etc).  I think the biggest reason we're Scrooges is because we're utterly worn-out and exhausted.  

The past 4 months have been a whirl-wind for us.  September was full of scheduled injections, daily dr appointments (some in NYC), and me being out of commission with painfully enlarged ovaries.  The first month of pregnancy followed with me sleeping 12-14 hrs/day and trying to adjust to the mix of pregnancy/IVF hormones (aka: I was crazy).  Matt's interview at Stanford and subsequent job offer took up the rest of October, and then there was the packing/move across the country that was November (and keep in mind, Matt had to continue giving me daily hormone injections until the end of November).  Everything was scheduled, planned, and absolutely nuts around our house.  There was so much to juggle... one minute we would be reveling in the fact that we heard a heartbeat, and the next we would be arguing over how to best pack the toaster.  And then I would nap because I had absolutely no energy.  Even though these are all absolutely wonderful things happening in our life, they are taxing: we're having a difficult time expending any energy to be merry and bright.  We just want life somewhat back-to-normal.

But today we had to suck-it-up and be merry: like it or not, it was Christmas in our home! Since we leave Tuesday for Seattle, we celebrated early: it's easier than dragging everything on the plane, only to drag it all back a few days later.  We slept in, watched Christmas movies, ate split-pea soup (it's Christmas-y because it's green...), and opened presents beside our mini-Safeway Christmas tree.  By no means was it the Christmas of our dreams, but we'll have plenty of those in our future (complete with our little Francklit).  We can't wait to get to Seattle on Tuesday and see everyone.  It'll finally give us space to relax and enjoy the Christmas season...

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Dog House

So, the other night, Matt said that he had an early present to give me... something that we needed but he didn't want to get in trouble for the gift. Having seen the dog house commercial, he was a little cautious; he didn't want to be "dual bag". Matt actually did really well- it was a new electric griddle!! We left ours in Seattle... we used it nearly every week for years and it was on it's last leg. I'm excited to break this new one in!

About a week ago, I also gave Matt and early Christmas gift. It was something I purchased that I knew we needed, but also knew wasn't very exciting. And, it was a little large to hide! I had gotten him a snow shovel with a steel core and steel blade at the end. I guess these are good to have when you live in NY...

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Merry (early) Christmas!

Note: We, in no way, mean to offend anyone with this post. We are just having fun and making due with what we have :) We believe in the sancity of Christmas and do not mean to diminish it. This pic was taken in our cottage; when we are back from Paris, we will post new home picture!

I (Amy) have wanted a nice and cute nativity scene for years but haven't quite found the right one, yet. And, I refuse to pay for a cheesy and cheap nativity scene. SO, this year I made this nativity scene from a box and used our favorite ornaments as the figurines (we don't have a tree this year because we have no space). No, it's not my ideal space, and Yes- it will be gone on 12/26.



The Players:

Three Wise Men: Snowman, Hoops, and YoYo
Baby Jesus: Kenny
Joseph: Stan
Mary: Kyle
Gabriel: Cartman
Manger Animals: T-Rex, Elephant, Grinch

Yes, they have a Christmas tree, maple leaf, and croquet set in the manger :)


Again, this was all in fun and created with joy. Hope you liked it!

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