Monthly: December 2020 (Christmas!)

The Christmas season always goes by too quickly, and I sit here, mid-January and am still mourning the loss of my decorations and music and family meals etc. I think especially this year it was more anticipated and relished, and on the flip side - the end of the holidays was more sad. 

On one of the kids + Todd's Mondays at home they decided the weather was nice enough for a walk along the Boise greenbelt. The grandparents and little cousins came too, apparently it was a good time, that I missed - boo. But I'm glad that Todd has had the opportunity to spend more time with the kids this year. 

Not a week later this is what the walk on our Nampa greenbelt looked like! 

And then we got Blizzards on the way home and watched a Hallmark Christmas movie - that was a good day!

 

So glad that Linda and I still got to make Christmas cookies and fudge. I certainly enjoyed my cookies, coffee, and fireplace. 

We went to see the Caldwell lights with Steve and Linda and there were SO MANY humans there... I do not know how I managed to get a picture without anybody in it. 

Christmas Eve was our Christmas dinner and present opening with Steve & Linda - which was a very sunny day and my pictures are all blown out. We had a really special afternoon with them (sitting all spread out) and then went to a ticketed, masked, Christmas Even service - it was a little strange feeling - but we were happy to have it at all!

And then it was time for Christmas Eve PJs and bedtime for the cousins and "White Christmas" for the adults. 

Christmas morning came early! Nana brought breakfast and we opened stockings and ate then headed over to mom and dad's for presents.

Todd did have to go to work for a couple of hours in the middle of the day, so we played with toys and talked to relatives and took naps in the meantime, then finished up presents and had Christmas dinner.

It was so, so nice to be together. It felt so normal for the first time probably all year. 

The kids had their 2nd annual Christmas-night-by-the-tree. It wasn't as bright as my camera is making it look, but it did take them a while to fall asleep, I figured I might come out and they would have moved to their beds, but they did not. 

In the last days of December we got some very cold and frosty days, which were beautiful, even if I would've just preferred a good snowstorm. 

I wouldn't have put away Christmas but for our tree was really dead and crispy - then once it was down everything else felt over the top, so it was all gone by New Years Eve and Todd was back at work with kids who had gone home for Christmas and returned so family time had to come to an end. If I could go back and do December over again right now I would!