The Christmas Post...Finally

It is almost February, and I am just now sorting through our Christmas pictures to post on here.  How is this for a timely blog post?  It seems like every time I get a chance to post about our Christmas in the Bluegrass, my mind gets diverted, and I end up posting on something else instead.  I think I have just been so intimidated by the mound of pictures to sort and crop, that I just push the project to the side.  But since this little blog serves as our little family journal, it would be impossible (and just plain wrong) to leave out the year's Christmas post.  So, today is the day, and to you, intimidating pile of pictures, I say:  I have conquered you!

And without further ado, in no particular order, here are the Workman's Twenty-Three Christmas Highlights:

1. Happy Birthday Jesus

At our home, we celebrate Jesus' birthday on Christmas Eve morning.  We start the morning off by completing our Advent nativity scene and reading Jesus' birth story.  Then, we open our gifts from each other, eat a special birthday breakfast, and head to Kentucky to be with our families. One of our favorite things to do the night before, after the boys are in bed, is to decorate the living room for Jesus' birthday party.  The boys get really excited to wake up to the decorations and hooplah.  Our poor "Happy Birthday" banner did not make it another year, though, after using it for at least the past five Christmases. I didn't have the heart to purchase another one, so I just left it packed away.  Eric did make some pretty snazzy birthday signs, though, so all was well.  And our birthday breakfast turned out this year.  Last year, I completely scorched our Christmas cinnamon rolls.  This year, though, our breakfast was actually edible, so it was very much enjoyed.

2.  Christmas Eve Lunch with Granny

This is a tradition that we thought just might not happen this year due to the weather forecast.  We usually spend the first few days of our Kentucky trip in Fleming County with Eric's family and the last in Casey County with my family.  And since mom's house is on the way to Flemingsburg, we usually stop in and have Christmas Eve lunch with Granny.  This year, however, it was calling for a big bunch of snow, so we thought it might be wiser to get ahead of the weather and go straight to Memaw and Pepaw's house.  Fortunately, the weather cooperated and the snow did not start falling until closer to evening, which gave us a chance to visit with Granny and still make it to Fleming County before the snow.  And since we left a little earlier than usual from Granny's house, we were able to make it to Eric's grandparent's house in time for their Christmas Eve gathering.  This is something we have missed for the past three years, since we are usually sliding into town just in time for the Christmas Eve Candlelight service at church.


3. "Real Man" Gifts

Caleb was especially proud of his gift from Tante and Uncle Tim this year.  They always do such a great job of finding gifts that match the boys' personality.  And this year was no different.  They gave the boys their very own flashlight sets and Caleb was instantly awed by the fact that he had been given a "Real Man" gift.  He made sure that he told everyone that he could that he now had a "Real man" flashlight.  And both boys have done a remarkable job of keeping their flashlights safely in their cases when not in use...just like "Real men" do.

4.  Extremely Cute Christmas Elves

Yes, they did nearly jump out of their skin with excitment.  But in the end they did get all of the Christmas gifts passed out at Memaw and Pepaw's house.

 

5.  Sleep!  And Ten Straight Days with My Hubby!! Woo Hoo!

Our December got pretty hectic, like most Decembers do.  So, we were very excited to get an opportunity to rest and even take a nap a time or two over our Christmas break.  Now that the boys are older, more independent, and do not have a strict routine that they have to abide by anymore, our trips away from home are much more restful.

I couldn't resist capturing this shot of a Christmas nap.  I guess we weren't the only ones in need of a little extra sleep over the holidays.

And I will never complain about having a long stretch of days with my wonderful hubby!

6.  Fancy Gifts from Caleb

It really is true...if your child gives you a rock for Christmas, you will think it is the most beautiful rock ever created, because it is the one that he/she picked out especially for you.  This year, my heart absolutely melted when I opened my gift from Caleb.  He went shopping with Daddy and bought, with his own money, my fancy Christmas present.

Yep, it is the most beautiful watch ever created!  And of course, Caleb chose pink, because since I am a girl, pink is obviously my favorite color.  What a sweet gift.

He took a different gift approach with Daddy.  He made him a homemade card and then went around the house, found things he thought Daddy would like, and then wrapped them himself.  Daddy ended up with a rubberband ball and a toy penguin (since penguins are daddy's favorite animal). 

For Seth, Caleb made a paper blaster and wrapped it himself.  It can be found in the weapon basket, alongside all of the other treasured light sabers and blasters.

7.  And a Really Awesome Sethie Gift, Too!

Seth's teacher, Mrs. Cindy, had a great idea this year for the kiddos to give to their parents.  She had each family send in two of their favorite recipes and then she compiled a little class cookbook, wrapped it, and gave it to the parents as their gift from their child.  So creative and really, really cute!  Especially the cover, which featured Chef Seth.

8. The Perfect Gift

Caleb's reaction said it all!  He had been wanting the Emperor's Shuttle for a long time and when he opened it from Memaw and Pepaw there was no disguising his feelings about it!

Eric always gives the most thoughtful gifts to me.  Always. I have no idea how Eric knew the exact coat that I wanted, because I didn't tell him.  In fact, I wasn't even sure exactly what coat I wanted until I opened my Christmas gift from him and there it was.  It is perfect! 







Memaw also does a great job getting exactly what I want, too.  Who knew a tea ketttle could be so cool?

Eric's most perfect gift can be found below at Number 18, but I think getting to wear your kiddos to work on a neck tie is a close second.

Seth is definitely the most difficult Workman to shop for.  Not because he is picky, but because he isn't.  It was really hard to know what the perfect gift is for him, but we tried.  But in the end, I think Granny won out with the Wildcat PJs.

9. Moon Pies for Christmas

I guess this could have technically gone under the Perfect Gift category, but I thought it was only appropriate to give it its own number.  Especially, since all of the boys were equally excited over Daddy's gift.

Nothing says, "I know you really well," like gifting your true love with a box of banana flavored moon pies.  Right, honey?

10.  Costumes

Costumes are a big hit with the boys and once we hit Casey County, I don't think they went very long out of costume until we got back to Tennessee.  Papaw Larry and Mrs. Sheila gave them really cool Transformer costumes for Christmas.  I think they may have even slept in them one night.

It was hard to pry the Transformers costumes off.  That was until they got their Star Wars costumes from Granny.  Then they just spent the rest of the time at home going from Jedi to robot.  It was quite entertaining. There were many, many costume changes.

11.  "As Seen on TV"

Last year was the year of the Snuggie and this year was the year of the "As Seen on TV" gifts.  Eric, Bret, and Drew decided to make a new tradition of getting each other the best/worst "As Seen on TV" gifts for each other.   This will be an interesting tradition.  Too bad Drew couldn't be there to see the delight on Bret's face when he opened his "shake weight."



12.  Battleship

I think everyone got a turn playing Battleship with Caleb, his new favorite game.  We knew the game would be a big hit with him and anyone who crossed his path while we were home got asked to play with him. 

Battleship became quite a family affair.

And it even got a little frustrating at times!






13.  The Dawn Treader

It is really hard to take in a movie in Franklin, when you know that if you just wait a week or two to go to the Maysville Cinemas, you will pay for five tickets about what you will pay for one in Franklin. 

So, that is just what we did.

We began reading the Chronicles of Narnia to the boys in December.  The boys are really enjoying it.  (Well, Caleb is.  Getting Seth to sit still during an entire chapter reading is impossible.)  Caleb and Seth had both seen the first two Narnia movies and were really excited to see The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which came out in mid-December.  We promised them that we would go see it the day after Christmas. 

And we did.  In Maysville.  For $13.00 for three adults and two kids.  No, that was not a typo and did I also mention that the theater gives free refills on popcorn and drink?  Okay, there is no surround sound or stadium seating, and the floor can be a bit sticky, but we don't need a lot of bells and whistles when we go see a movie on the big screen.

What a fun movie experience we had!  And we didn't even have to break the bank. 

Thank you inexpensive movie theaters that haven't quite up with the times!  This budget conscious family appreciates you!

14.  Date Night!!

Memaw and Pepaw were not only sweet enough to watch the boys for us so that we could have a date night, they also provided the entertainment for us, in the form of two UK tickets, which they gave to us so that we could go out and watch a game together.  Oh, and what a great time we had!  Eric and I love Lexington!  We went there a lot while dating and it holds a lot of sweet memories for us.  We went to dinner at Raffertys, which was one of our favorite eating spots when we were dating, and then  we headed to Rupp for a night with the Cats!  It was an easy win for them, but we still had a blast and had a great time just enjoying the Rupp atmosphere.

15.  Pajamas and Pillows

This year everyone had the same gift idea for the boys...PJs.  And it wasn't a bad idea.  The more PJs the better!  From Star Wars to Buzz Lightyear to cute little Wildcats, the boys do not have to worry about not having any sleepwear this season.  Thanks to our family!

The boys also got some very special handmade pillows from Granny this year.  If you have known Seth for very long, there is no doubt you remember the Thomas pillow that he carried around for nearly two years and literally loved to death.  Really, he loved that thing TO death.  So much so, that the only thing that remains of the poor pillow is a small shred of fabric that he still keeps in his bed.  Anyway, Granny has been promising him a new pillow ever since Thomas #1 bit the dust.  Granny sewed the original Thomas many, many times.  Any time it would get a hole in it, Seth would say, "Granny can fix it."  And she usually could.  But alas, eventually, Thomas got so worn that even Granny could not repair him.  And Thomas became a shred. 

But of course, Granny made good on her promise, and to Seth's delight, she presented him with a new Thomas pillow for Christmas.  Caleb got a special pillow, too.  The pillows are both well loved.

16.  Painting Birdhouses with Granny

Granny had such a great gift idea for the boys this year.  She loves feeding the birds around her house.  There are many feeders that hang from the trees in her yard.  So, she decided to give the boys each their own bird house to decorate to put in her trees.  That way they would always see it when they visit Granny and Granny would have a special reminder of her boys each time she looked in her yard. 

Not to mention, it will make a few birds pretty happy, too.  Plus, the boys were able to get some creative energy out.

17.  Great Weather and No Sickness

Should I even elaborate on why this was a highlight?

18. Brad Paisley Tickets

I heard the announcement before Thanksgiving that Brad Paisley had added a Nashville date to his H2O tour, and every day I was on Ticketmaster trying to find out when the tickets would go on sale.  I got nowhere.  Ticketmaster had no information.  Brad Paisley's website had no information, other than that there would be a February 26th Nashville show.  I even called the local radio station a couple of times and they had no ticket sale date.  So on faith, I opted not to find a different gift and stick to my plan to get him the gift I knew he would love...the one that I didn't actually HAVE yet.  So, this is what Eric actually opened on Christmas Eve morning from me:

Once I explained his gift, Eric was ecstatic.  And with much anticipation, I continued to stalk Ticketmaster until the tickets finally went on sale on January 15th at 10am.  So, at 10am on January 15th, I bought our tickets and we got them in the mail on Friday.  Yay!!  Another perfect gift!

19.  Sledding

I have already dedicated an entire post to the great fun we had doing this.

20.  Christmas Cookies

Okay, this was definitely a highlight for the boys.  For me, not so much.  The joy of tasting Christmas cookies did not outweigh the stress involved in baking the cookies.  I know, that is a shock, since I definitely have a passion for sweets.  But I am not a baker and my sweets never turn out to be the tasty joy that I see in the magazines or hear my wonderful friends describe. 

Our cookie baking experience did not turn out as picturesque as I had envisioned  This will most likely not become a Christmas tradition in our home.  Well, at least making the "from scratch" version. 

21. Watching UK Beat Louisville at the Annual Brown Family Christmas Gathering

Well, it has definitely become a tradition.  The Brown family Christmas celebration is planned to coincide with watching UK wallup Louisville in basketball.  I think it is a great tradition!

We had a fun time getting together with Mom's side of the family at my cousin Barry's house this year.  Some of the family we only see once a year, and it is always so much fun to eat together, talk together, watch our kiddos play together, and yell at the TV screen together.

22.  Ringing in the New Year with Scrabble and Sisters

We usually opt to stay in where it is warm on New Year's Eve.  And this year was no different. 

Becky and I had a blast going head-to-head at Scrabble for much of our Christmas/New Years visit together.  We saw 2010 out while contemplating our next move and saw 2011 in doing the same thing.  We did take a little break to receive a New Year's kiss from our respective hubbies.  It was a fun night and nothing like spending it with a couple of our favorite people!  And playing Scrabble, of course.

23.  Family, Family, Family

Since we do not get home to Kentucky throughout the year as often as we used to or would like to, our Christmas tradition of spending Christmas at "home" has become even more special to us. 



And to our boys.

Caleb and Seth never complain about having to leave their newly opened gifts behind on Christmas Eve morning to sit in a car for a few hours.  Nope.  They never have, because they are as excited as we are to see our family and spend a few days with them.  Our family rearranges schedules, take time off work, and does whatever they can to make our visits very special and to have time with us.  

We bring our traveling chaos in and our families welcome it with open arms. We are grateful! And our Christmas in the Bluegrass is one of, if not, our favorite time of the year.