Christmas Day

After a looong night, Christmas morning finally came. At 6:30, we went out to open our gifts.

With this being our first Christmas on our own, there were a lot of changes and traditions to keep in mind for each other. With me, I always get a stuffed animal, even if it’s not Christmas related, though I prefer it is, so I can add it to my Christmas stuffed-animal collection. I always get Lowry’s beef jerky and/or Slim Jims in my stocking, which are the first thing I eat as I open presents (yeah, my breath is truly a treat on Christmas morning). I sometimes get Hickory Farms stuff too. Lastly, I always get at least one video game. (Jenn’s family actually kept two of those traditions for me on Christmas Eve.)

Jenn kept all of them. She got me a stuffed snowman, Slim Jims, a box of Hickory Farms stuff, and two Nintendo Wii games. Jenn and I both got oranges at the bottom of our stockings as children, but that was one tradition that we willingly did away with this year. We just decided to do something else that was round. So instead of an orange, Jenn got me a Pokeball with a plush Pokemon inside. The rest of the stocking was filled with little toys and lots and lots of Snickers. Mmmm…

I also got: a remote control helicopter; the complete Kingdom Hearts original manga series; a cordless drill (donated by Mike); a pocket knife; a good screwdriver; a mini-screwdriver set; the Jurassic Park box set; a cheese plane; gloves; socks (or, in the voice of Mr. Bean: “Christmas socks”); and the two Wii games I got were Bully: Scholarship Edition and Tomb Raider: Underworld.

Lastly, Jenn apparently asked everyone to write me a letter about their feelings on Christmas, and give their testimonies of the birth of Christ. She also wrote one herself. Not everyone finished theirs, and some need to be mailed, but the letters I received were fantastic! I loved every one of them! Thank you all for writing them. It was a very thoughtful thing for Jenn to do, and for everyone else to participate. It was my favorite present this year by far.

Adam spoiled me rotten. My stocking was filled with all sorts of wonderful things. Instead of an orange, he put a couple of white chocolate oranges in the toe. Yummy! It also contained a Christmas Mickey coloring book and crayons, an Aurora polly-pocket style toy, and lots and lots of makeup, more Christmas socks, and Webkinz cards. Plus many white chocolate candy bars and two See’s Bordeaux Chocolate bars (which he knows I love). My stuffed animal was a big stuffed Eeyore with antlers and bells.

As for my presents, he got me a little Disney Princesses puzzle, an Oreck cordless iron (courtesy of Adam’s mom), Pokemon Pearl (a DS game I REALLY wanted), Personal Trainer: Cooking (which is an interactive cookbook for the DS), Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time vol. 1 manga book, Kingdom Hearts vol. 1 (Adam noticed how upset I was at finding it in the store after I had used all my Christmas funds, so he bought the first one for me, unaware I had already ordered the whole set on eBay.), Star Wars: Heir to the Empire book, Quest for Camelot on DVD, Wall-E on DVD, white chocolate covered pretzels, and a Mandolin (My undisputed favorite of all my presents. Woooow.)

My family traditions that Adam kept for me include: presents on the tree (he put little boxes of candy on there. Last year it was Kenny’s letters), I get at least one movie and this year I got two, getting a stuffed animal, See’s candy in my stocking, and I always get at least one book. I’d have to say that he made sure that Christmas was similar but better than those I had before ours.



After our Christmas, we went to my parents’ house for a big family breakfast. After everyone arrived and ate, my parents gave gifts to each of their children and grandchildren. They gave all of the married couples the complete set of The History of the Church. And of course we gave them our presents and presents from Jenn’s parents.

Then my siblings exchanged gifts too. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get them anything this year, but everyone else got us something. Bret & Melanie gave us Mark Mabry’s “Reflections of Christ” book. Jeremy & Kalli gave us a big decorative platter and DVD’s of his kids. Amy & Jason gave everyone a first-aid kit and Nursery Manual “to be physically and spiritually prepared” (I sure hope we don’t need the Nursery Manual yet, but it will be used). Sara & Mike got everyone a Scentsy, which they actually gave out weeks ago.

We then went home and did another video chat with Jenn’s family, and saw everything they got, and showed off our Christmas. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and watching Christmas movies and shows. It was such a eventful and amazing day, and I hope we didn’t forget anything, but this post is long enough as it is. Merry Christmas, everyone! And a happy New Year!