Christmas 2010

So I sat down this afternoon to start the Christmas post - I am so behind with the blog and I am hoping to make my first blog book so I needed to finish 2010. As I started looking through all my uploads, I realized the Christmas pictures were nowhere to be found. Still calm, I asked Chris where he had uploaded them (long story but about 2 weeks ago he uploaded all our memory cards and burned them to CD's so he could use the memory cards for the deer cameras he and our brother-in-law were setting up - I did not want him to delete all my cards but he assured me he had backed everything up - 2x) Well after much searching all we can figure out is somehow the Christmas memory card was never uploaded and accidentally deleted....yes, I am crying again as I type this - all my Christmas pictures, gone. I was quite upset to say the least and even went to lay down so I could calmly and rationally handle this - it is killing me that I don't have those pictures so I will try to describe our Christmas in words - Maybe God is teaching me something here!!! The silver lining is that we did take ALOT of video this year - so we do have that!!

Christmas with the Carter's
We flew back from Colorado on Friday night December 17th. On Saturday the 18th, we celebrated Christmas with Chris' sister and her family!! Grace absolutely loves her cousins Connor and Hannah and they had a BLAST opening presents!! The girls got shopping carts and pillow pets along with tons of other fun toys and books!! Grace seemed to really "get" Christmas this year and she loved it!!

Christmas Eve
We always spend Christmas Eve with Chris' family - Grandad, Grammy and Nanny. This year we had dinner at our house and then went to the Christmas Eve service at our church. Grace looked precious in an outfit I bought in Canton for the occasion - zebra stripped legging and a dress with "I Love Santa" appliqued on it. After church, we came back to our house to start a new family tradition - pajamas for everyone on Christmas Eve - everyone got to open a present and they were new pajamas - the pics were so cute - Grace had picked mine out and they were pink with sock monkeys all over!! Grace's were princess pajamas and she LOVED them!! After everyone left, we let Grace open one more present - a snow globe - another tradition we decided to start - she will get a snow globe every Christmas Eve to start her own Christmas collection.

Christmas Morning
Santa of course came to our house - pictures would have shown a princess castle for Grace as well as lots of books, princess shoes, a tricycle and big girl panties!! Santa even visited Chris and me!! After we open presents - which was starting to get a little overwhelming for our ADHD 2 year old, we headed out to my parents house for....more presents - pictures would have shown two little cousins walking in to my parents house to see that Santa came to visit there too!! We spent the day at my parents with the Love side of the family - played games and ate a TON of home cooked food!!

This year was such a blessing!! Things have been rough the past 12 months and we were just so thankful for a wonderful Christmas with all of our family - and honestly that is what counts - pictures don't make the memories - we do!!! I am I so happy we were able to have such an amazing Holiday with those who we love so dearly!!