What a Wonderful Christmas!!!

This was me and Drew's first Christmas together...ever! We have always done holidays with our own families even when we were engaged so this year has been a special time in which we have been able to share in each others family traditions. When deciding how to spend the holidays, I think we both agree that spending the time with our families was the best decision we could have made. This year has been probably one of the best Christmases I have had for several reasons. The obvious is that I got to spend the holiday with Drew, but it was also special because of all the wonderful memories this year brought, including the birth of my first nephew!

Our holiday started last Wednesday night. Drew got off at noon on Wednesday so we were able to get ready for the long weekend without being rushed. We finally headed to Benton around 6 to spend Christmas Eve and part of Christmas day with my parents and sister. Christmas Eve is probably one of my favorite parts of the Christmas holiday because we get all dressed up and head to Christmas Eve mass in Little Rock at Christ the King Catholic Church. This to me is a very important part of Christmas. Before you get wrapped up in what 'Santa' brought and the hassle and bustle of Christmas day, you are reminded why we celebrate Christmas. The evening took a different turn because all the interstates were shut down going into Little Rock because of all the rain, so we decided to go to church in Benton. We actually tried to head into LR, but had to quickly turn around after seeing all the break lights at Bryant!

After church, we of course had to take Christmas pictures...

I think this is my FAVORITE picture we took! I love taking those random funny pictures.

It has been a tradition in my house for as long as I can remember to have tamales and scrambled eggs for dinner on Christmas Eve. I know it sounds so random, but it is SO good! This was the first year Drew got to eat the special meal :) and I think he really liked it.

Christmas morning is also pretty cool because Santa still comes to our house. We wait until everyone is up and head into the living room. My mom will of course already has the Christmas music going! Now when Santa comes, he puts your stocking in a spot in the living room and this is where all your gifts are! We all still get pretty into Christmas and I just LOVE the way we do things. It is fun to bring out the kid in you once a year. This year Drew brought a bit of the Simmons family tradition to the Ewing house by making sausage pin wheels for breakfast. They were so good too! Another unique family tradition of ours is the stocking Larissa and I give my parents. My mom's aunt Leola, who is a nun in Texas, made us a stocking several years ago. She told us this was a stocking for us to stuff with goodies for my parents. It is a way to say 'Thank You' for all they do for us during this time of year. It is a neat thing because Aunt Leola is always thinking of others and wants everyone else to do the same.

Here are a few pictures from our Christmas morning.

After a wonderful morning with my family, we got ready and headed to Helena to spend the evening with Drew's family. When we got in town, we headed to Mamaw and Papaw's house for dinner. During dinner, we did this really cool thing that put a smile on everyone's face. Stevee had gotten these things called 'Poppers' at the store. I had never seen them before, but they are these tubes that are wrapped up in Christmas paper. On the count of 3, everyone pulled their Poppers apart and these toys pop out! Everyone got something a bit different. I got a harmonica haha, someone got crayons, another person got marbles. The other funny thing is that all the Poppers also have a paper crown in them which everyone HAD to wear during dinner. The Poppers also have jokes in them. So just imagine Christmas dinner where everyone has paper crowns on their head and telling their random jokes (most of which don't make any sense haha). Anyway, it was a truly unique and funny thing that the entire family got really into. Here are a few pictures.

After dinner and some visiting with everyone, we headed back to Drew's parents house for Christmas over there. We all sat in the living room near the tree and opened presents. After the tree, we went into the dining room and got our stockings. At my house, our stockings are full of candy, fruit, nuts, and stocking stuffers. At Drew's house, the stockings are full of random but really neat gifts. Among other things, Drew's stocking had weight lifting gloves, a flashlight, and smart wool socks. My stocking had lotion, Starbucks coffee, and a Tide pen. Even the animals had stocking stuffers haha.

Here is Lucy playing with her Christmas gift when we got home.

Needless to say, Drew and I had A LOT of stuff to bring home on Sunday. Some of the unique gifts we got this year included this really pretty decorative vase that my Mom and Dad gave me. The vase was filled with some of the curly willow that was part of the center pieces at me and Drew's wedding reception. I absolutely love it!

Drew's parents gave us this beautiful cross that is actually an extra piece of the staircase in their home. When they built their house several years ago, they made these crosses to be part of the staircase design. Drew and I love crosses and this one has a neat story behind it!

We also got these fun cups! We were out of these so I was really excited to get some extras. Plus, they have an 'S' on them which I love!

Christmas is always a fun and exciting time of year, but this year had one more extra twist to it... Drew and I became an aunt and uncle for the first time! Eli Simmons Pryor was born a few minutes before 10 am on December 26 2009! He is so perfect and as Papaw put it, "a miracle." I can't wait to share some pictures, but that will have to be it's own post. I am just so thankful that Drew and I were there to share in this very special time for Scott and Stevee.

Drew and I also wanted to say Thank You to our family for giving us such a wonderful and memorable Christmas (all of which we captured on our video camera)! Our parent's already do so much for us and they always go way beyond what they should during this time of year. We love all of you so much and one last time... MERRY CHRISTMAS!