Christmas!

We had a pretty laid back Christmas this year. We have family in GA that we usually go see on the holidays, but it was a really long day when we went down for Thanksgiving. Because I had to work an extra long shift the day after Christmas, we decided to not to go anywhere for Christmas.

I had to work a short shift on Christmas Eve and then there was a little time to relax before going to church. We took some time to take pictures under the tree and then left about an hour early for church.

We went to the 5 pm children friendly service. It was already getting packed when we got there, but we managed to snag our usual spot. By the time the service started, it was standing room only.

The service was cute - it was the children's choirs telling the Christmas story along with lots of Christmas carols to for us to sing. Emily didn't know most of them, but she sang with gusto when it came time to sing "Away in the Manger".

Once we got home, Emily got to open her one Christmas Eve present which was her Christmas pj's. Then we watched the Christmas episode of "Phineas and Ferb" before going to bed.

Santa came and brought all of Emily's presents. Then Todd and I watched the original "Miracle on 34th Street" on TV. I knew Emily was going to be up early, so I went to bed once the movie was done.

Emily did get up around her usual time at 6:30 am. We roused Todd for a little bit so she could open her presents.

She got lots of things she had asked Santa for, but the one she was most excited about was the Jake and the Neverland Pirates Pirate Ship. Though now that it is over a week after

Christmas, she plays with her Doc McStuffins puzzle that was a last minute addition from Santa more than anything.

Todd got some sleep after presents and Emily played with her toys. At 10, we watched the Disney Christmas Parade which is more a 2 hour long Disney commercial than a parade. But Emily and I enjoyed it, especially since this is the year we are going to Walt Disney World. While the parade was going on, Todd started lunch which was a ham dinner with all the fixings.

We talked to Todd's parents and his grandma and we talked to my dad and his wife. Then after Emily got up from her nap, we Skyped with Todd's parents, sister-in-law and Emily's cousins. It was a lot of the kids showing each other what they got for Christmas, but they enjoyed being able to see and talk to each other.

It was a pretty laid back holiday and I enjoyed it. It would be nice to go back to Michigan or even down to GA for the holidays but that gets really hectic.

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