Christmas Traditions

This Christmas marked a special occasion for our household. Doug and I decided last year that we needed to start making our own family traditions and that meant waking up Christmas morning at our own home. We informed our families we would be in town the week before Christmas and traveling home Christmas Eve so Santa could come to our house. It worked out better than we could have imagined. We had a great time seeing all the extended family...we even spent a day in Spartanburg. And when it was time to head home, it is the first time the girls were excited about leaving the grandparents' house.

This is Tom and Bernadette with the grandkids. Can't wait for Brent to move closer so his kids can be a part of it!

We woke up Christmas morning to Keely coming in at 6:45. But she patiently waited in the bed with us until 8 when Macey and Kres woke up. Then we went into the family room to see what Santa brought. The big gifts this year were bikes. They were so excited, we let them take a short ride through the house since it was raining. (It stopped and cleared up enough to go outside after lunch.) They had so much fun playing with each new toy that it was 1 PM before we finished opening all the presents. Here is a pic of the kids going through stockings on Christmas morning.

This is Keely on her new "big girl" bike. She can actually ride it (we were afraid it was too big). And the best part is it will last for years to come!

Doug and I have said over and over again how nice the past week has been. We have had great family time (though we are all fighting colds at this point). And we have been able to emphasize why we celebrate this season and how important it is to be thankful for all God has blessed us with!

The favorite Christmas present...Casey gave BJ and Kres Clemson jersies. Kres was definitely sporting his Sunday night for the bowl game.