So this is Christmas...

Wow! What a whirlwind this past month has been! It started with my 30th birthday around the beginning of the month and has been non-stop since then. We still have New Years and Ray's birthday to go before all the madness ends.

Like I said, it began at the beginning of the month with my birthday. I thought it would be a rather quiet set of holidays as my in laws were going to Hawaii to spend Christmas with my sister in law and we usually go there for Christmas. So, I thought we'd just spend a quaint little day or two at home by ourselves with the kiddos. I was nervous it might not feel like Christmas but confident we'd get through it.

Boy, was I wrong?

About it all.

Have I learned nothing these past 30 years??

My in laws did indeed go to Hawaii. But they flew out of ,like they always do, and they took the opportunity to spend the night with us before their flight, like they always do. We love having them and it was our chance to have a little pre-Christmas Christmas with them. It was a lot of fun and the kids started the first round of getting loaded down. Chloe and Hunter were super excited with all of the new stuff Meme and Pawpaw bought them for Christmas. And, so were Ray and I. To top it off, Pawpaw cooked an AWESOME meal...who can top that??

I thought the rest of the holiday would go fairly quickly and uneventful. I had 99% of my Christmas shopping finished so I figured I was out of the stores and the mayhem.

Have I mentioned how wrong I was?

Last minute plans fell through, and instead of just showing up on Christmas Eve at my moms with kids and eating a meal she cooked...we changed the plans and I now had 10-12 people showing up at MY house for a meal I was expected (well, I offered) to prepare. THE NEXT DAY...aka, CHRISTMAS EVE.

I panicked a bit but headed to the store. I swear I barely made it out of Target alive. I am not being dramatic. They were trying to apprehend a shoplifter near the produce section. I happened to be in the line of fire for the RACK OF RIBS he decided to hurl from the interior of his coat before fleeing the front doors. WOW!

At the end of the day, I had all I needed to prepare said dinner. Now, I just needed to clean my mess of a house and start the meal.

I worked all day on the turkey and the casseroles. Everyone arrived around 6 and we had a blast. It was all worth it. The kids got spoiled as usual and they loved every second of it. It was such a blessing to be with everyone and I wouldn't have it any other way. In fact, maybe we'll change the past tradition of Christmas Eve at my moms and start having it here every year.

Santa passed and the kids got more junk, I mean toys, this morning. Every single thing on Chloe's list in fact. And we played and played and played all day.

We didn't go anywhere. I didn't cook a turkey since I had the night before. I actually cooked a spaghetti and we had a nice, quiet day at home.

I am so thankful for the things that I am blessed with. My family and friends are irreplaceable. Everyone is healthy and for the most part happy. What else could this little cajun girl ask for??

I hope you were all just as lucky and blessed as me this holiday season.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Until next time...CNS