Christmas was good to us this year. We have spent a lot of time up here in Ohio to be with Tim's family. For obvious reasons. It was the best decision we could have made. :)
I think for the first time since we have been married, we felt like as much effort as we put in others, we were given back (not just material things... the more important stuff). We were well prepared for Christmas; we did most of our shopping earlier in the year. Although, I do have to get one more thing (oops) and then send my sister's presents to her in Kentucky.
It is hard to swallow the fact that we probably won't be able to have the relationship with some family that we would like to, we just don't have the same goals and personalities to have a deep relationship (but we definitely have an amiable one).
We had to put our foot down about Madeline getting swept under the rug. We got a lot of "she's so young, we won't include her in this or that". That was hard, but it's behind us now.
Christmas morning was nice and calm. We gave the grandparent's our gift before we went to the family Christmas and they really enjoyed it. Practical and sentimental gifts.
Hopefully this year we can start making more traditions.
I did a lot of crafting. I wanted to do some more for friends and family but I just didn't have the stamina with all the kids underfoot. Maddi and Addi orders came before crafting. The good news: now I will have those things done well before next Christmas.
One of our goals was to spend some time bonding with our kids, making relationships deeper, learning to open up and trust more. It worked with some friends, failed with others.
We got to travel down to Kentucky two days after Christmas and were surprised with a big family dinner and gift exchange! It was lovely. There's nothing better than having your whole family bombard you with hugs and kisses and punches!
So, here it is, a late Merry Christmas.
