My Mama had her entire home decorated so pretty. Every room had a touch of Christmas. She and Daddy made it a special time for us all. These are her trees in the dining room and den. She brought out the stockings that she made us when we were little and added new ones for in-laws and grand kids that have since joined our family. Every window was lined with filled stockings!
We started eating as soon as everyone arrived. We had lots of finger foods like brisket & ham on rolls, potato wedges, sausage balls, spinach dip, cocktail smokies...I could go on and on. It was so good.
After filling our bellies - we gathered in the den where Daddy read The Christmas Story from the Bible.
And then it was time for presents!
It's always fun to watch the kiddos open their gifts.
All of my siblings and their spouses draw names and we fill a stocking for that person, which is always fun. Daddy and Mama gave us all gift cards and filled our stockings with goodies!
Daddy gave Mama her first iphone!
We were all looking forward to gift time because we had a big surprise for our oldest brother. We knew he wanted an ipad2, so the entire family went in on it and it was so much fun to see his face when he opened the box! There may or may not have been a few tears. :)
After gifts - everyone put on their pajamas...
And it was time to play!! The kids played the kinect for HOURS. The oldest nephews/nieces stayed up until 3am. Everyone stayed the night (except my brother-in-law, Gerry. We missed him a lot but he was exactly where he needed to be...with his Mom). There were 22 of us at my parents house. It was a huge sleep over and so much fun.
We headed home on the evening of the 26th. Our little girl was worn out. We hadn't been in the car for more than 5 minutes and she was out.
This was one of the most relaxing, laid back, meaningful Christmases I can remember in quite some time. I made a point of keeping things simple at the very beginning of the holiday season and I'm so glad I did. We were able to make wonderful memories with Amelia. She's at such a fun age. We would ask her what Christmas is all about and she would go back and forth from saying "Jesus' tay-tay" and "presents." We always want her to know the true meaning of the season. We want her to enjoy giving as much as receiving. We also want her to look forward to Christmas morning with excitement just like every kid should.
It was truly a very Merry Christmas for The Averitt Fam!
Love to all,
1 comment:
I told your mom I was a wee bit jealous, your daddy's face has such a sweet expression of happines and so proud of his family, so thankful for such a wonderful hertiage you have Jill, people have paid a price for it, continue it with your family. love you and your sweet loving family..love them and you
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