We had a great whirlwind of a Christmas in Louisiana this year. We really didn't even decide if we were going to travel for Christmas until a few weeks prior. I just can only juggle so much and it seems as though as I get older, I become more and more of a procrastinator in making decisions. I was excited to be back in my home state, especially with the warmer weather that they boast. We got to see lots of our favorite people, which is always a favorite.
Our first day down South was spent in NOLA to visit my Uncle Mike and Aunt Rina. We ate a hearty seafood lunch (Tyler ate his first shrimp meal and he was a FAN), and then headed to our family farm (which is really in the middle of the city now, but it's where my Great Grandfather farmed WAY back when) for Uncle Mike to give tractor rides. The boys LOVED it.
Unfortunately, Sunday evening my mom came down with the flu, so most of the week leading up to Christmas was spent with my mom in quarantine and me sanitizing like CRAZY so that none of us got sick (especially Tyler, who had just finished his antibiotics for pneumonia). I'm happy to report that we've all remained flu-free 9 days out, which is a bit of a miracle. Praying that we don't come down with it... seems like it's going around bad this year!
Christmas Day mom escaped quarantine and was able to rejoin the craziness of Christmas with littles. Actually, it wasn't really too crazy and was oh so much fun to watch the boys light up with every gift they opened. Brayden had been a little skeptical of Santa after a child at school had told him he wasn't real (daggers from my eyes)... but woke up Christmas morning and exclaimed "HE is REAL! I heard footsteps and a whisper HO HO HO!" Glad to see the magic will live for another year at least (and if you're wonderinh how I handled B coming home and telling me his friend had said that, I just responded with "what do you think?" While I don't want to prolong the Santa thing by lying to him if he asks me, I also want him to make up that decision on his own instead of me just coming right out and telling him one way or the other).
Tyler had quite the help in opening most of his gifts
My parents hosted my Uncle Mike, Aunt Rina (and her son) along with my Grandmother for Christmas lunch. It was calm and relaxing and perfect in every way. Tyler was a crowd pleaser, as always and the older two boys enjoyed the extra attention.
I totally forgot to get pictures of my parents with the kids or a family picture on Christmas day. In fact, I forgot a lot of things this Christmas; Santa didn't get cookies, I missed the last 4 days of Advent... I had to give myself a lot of grace, as I tend to struggle with wanting to make things, especially traditions, exactly perfect. Thankfully no one seemed to notice the missing pieces, and although I might be lacking pictures, I know that my kids (and Drew and I), really enjoyed all of the memories we made with family, and we were still able to celebrate Jesus, which is all that really matters anyway.
We finished our trip to Louisiana with a trip to the local zoo, but those pictures haven't been uploaded yet, so I'll post them later this week. I hope you're soaking up the last few days of 2014 with family and friends, and are able to rest as we enter into a New Year.
