A very merry Christmas

We’re back in Austin after a wonderful trip to see our familia in West Texas. This really was a great Christmas for me, a turning point of sorts. I had become increasingly bah-humbug-ish as the year passed, dreading all the hustle and bustle of the holidays. But my first night back in my parents’s house, I stayed up into the wee hours looking at old, old photos…sepia-toned memories of my family. There was my mom, beautiful as ever, always stylishly dressed and with such love in her eyes. There was my dad, strong with a sly smile and laughter in his eyes. There were my sister and my brother, tiny and helpless, and there was me, a little happy ball of love. This family, these people, have loved me and loved each other for years and years. And I was here spending time with them. I love Christmas!

We were all a little bummed that my brother couldn’t make it, but we had fun nonetheless. On Christmas Eve, we piled a couple of cars and headed to Saturday’s, a cute little diner just across the New Mexico border that serves up old-fashioned, thick and delicious milkshakes (can you believe that after an entire weekend with my family, the only photo that I have to show for it is this one of a milkshake? At least you can kind of see my mom in the background…). That night, we headed over to my sister’s home to drink hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows (my sister rocks) and sugar cookies that we had decorated together. We opened gifts and sat by the fireplace (even though it was pretty warm outside) and just had a great time.

On Christmas day, we traveled to Lubbock to spend time with Justin’s family…we opened gifts and went to church and then had a late afternoon meal outside in the cool December air. We watched movies (I fell asleep during one of them) and played games and talked. It was nice to have everyone together.

So despite the long drives (7 hours each way), it was a fun, relaxing holiday with lots of good food. Check out my sister’s site for some photos of the goodies we ate!

3 responses to “A very merry Christmas”

  1. Welcome back and Happy New Year!

  2. Nice photo. And I know what you mean about the holidays. Mine are so busy with so many family members in town, and are usually spent running everywhere and visiting tons of relatives. But in the end, I love it, and I feel very blessed to have the family I do.

  3. Thanks, Joe! Kristi, I totally agree!

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