What if Christmas..doesn't come from a store

Back track with me a little to Christmas Eve and Christmas day! I had all types of emotions going into Christmas this year. This was our first married Christmas so I was excited about all the newness that would bring but that also meant it was my first Christmas not waking up at my parents house! Now the husband didn't quite understand the big deal in this but when you have been waking up on Christmas morning for the past 26 years with your mom, dad, and brother (except for last year..) and you are for sure a creature of habit this becomes a hard thing to over look! Though when Will and I got married we decided that we would spend Christmas morning each year (at least for now) as our own little family at our own house  apartment! Little did I know how hard that little decision would actually be..sounded way better 9 months out when we first talked about it, plus through in a few hormones and you can only imagine!

So we finally figured out how we were going to do both sides of our families for Christmas and stay home on Christmas morning...which was quite the challenge in and of itself, but we figured it out! We spent Christmas Eve morning at my mom's side and Christmas Eve night with my dads side. It was great to spend time with both sides of the family and see some family members that we don't see often.
After saying by to my parents Christmas Eve we hopped into the car and we headed home..and this is when all of the emotions pregnancy hormones decided to hit me like a freight train! We were driving home and I could feel the tears filling up in my eyes and then when you get the lump in your throat you just know you are about to cry..which these days has become pretty regular. I figured if I just starred out the window it would all go away and the husband would never know..psh who am I kidding he could hear the sniffles instantly! He decided to try and distract me and ask if I wanted to go look at Christmas lights because he knows how much I love them...at first I was hesitant but he cranked up the Christmas music and that is exactly what we did! It helped keep me distracted for quite a while and we saw some gorgeous lights, the trees! You know you have done a good job on your lights when you have a caused a traffic jam!

We finally made it home and our living room turned back into Santa's Workshop to finish some last minute gifts for our nephew! Because sometimes your best ideas come a couple of days before Christmas..procrastinating turns into a good thing! This year we decided to make a tent for our nephew and I think it was a huge hit!

Here he is in it with all his other toys on Christmas morning!

So before we headed to the in-laws on Christmas we had our own Christmas just the two of us! I really enjoyed this quiet christmas and we talked about how different it would be next year with a 7 month old baby!!! It is so crazy to think about and so exciting all at the same time! I grew up having all our presents separated into piles when we woke up Christmas morning and then you each opened one present one by one, and then saved the stockings last! Now the husband grew up where it was just a free for all and you just opened however you wanted...luckily the husband obliged to my "Christmas Rules" and we opened our presents one by one!

 His pile and stocking!

My pile and stocking! 

Our first married Christmas...tried to get the tree in the background but obviously that didn't work! 

Once we finished (and called my parents about 5 times of course :) ) we headed down to Duncanville where the husbands family lives! We opened lots of presents, played with all the nephews new games, and had a delicious Mexican meal!  

It is so neat to watch Will with his nephew and think about what a great dad he is going to be...though I think our poor kid is going to have to fight their dad for their toys in the beginning! I think Will was more excited about some of Ari's toys than he ways!

helping stealing Ari's toys :)

We had a lot of fun playing all types of games...Twister was an option but this pregnant lady opted out this year! 

 The balloon game was a huge hit (except Ari was not convinced of that quite yet!) It was a lot like Jenga but with a balloon, you didn't want the balloon to pop on your turn!
Up next we Heads Up! where you had to give clues so the person with the cards on their head could guess what their cards said!

 Here we are on Christmas Day with our family of three!!

 After we ate and played with all the toys Will took Ari out back to shoot cans with a BB gun! He still is a little small for the gun but enjoys spending time with his uncle Will!

With his can that he shot..posed by will! He says that this is how you pose with your winnings!

** Side story and important note** When shooting cans with a BB gun do not shoot the bottom of the can..the BB will come back and hit you in the leg. Let me tell you it is not a pleasant feeling! 

We really had a great time and got to spend a lot of time with Will's family! 

Late that night we went and spent the night with my parents so that we could wake up early the day after Christmas at their house! The husband thought it was silly to stay at the parents house since we leave about 15 minutes away but he knew it would mean a lot to me!  My brother and his wife would be there too from Oklahoma! 

Sweet Angus patiently waiting for Lucy (Annie's dog) to arrive for Christmas! Finally they arrived and we opened presents and got to hang out! Angus is always so excited to see Cole and licks him like crazy!

We had the best Christmas and can't wait to see what next Christmas will look like with a little one!