Tales from Our First Christmas

Brad and I took the trees down and boxed up all the Christmas decorations, but this is a Christmas season we will not soon forget!!


Let's just say, Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn's "Four Christmases" doesn't have ANYTHING on us. We finished up our 7th family Christmas get together on Sunday, December 27th before heading back to Arlington for Brad to go to work on Monday. (And we have one more coming) So we had double their fun, and an INFINITE amount more where blessings are concerned.

We started our Christmas season on Saturday, December 18th with the Williams crew (which is Carrie's mom's family). It's always SO fun to see everyone and catch up on what is going on. This year was VERY different for me because it was the first time I came and left without my parents - but I have to admit, I'm very blessed to come and ago with someone like Brad! After the gifts had been exchanged and the food had been eaten, we headed over to James and Michelle's for some Saturday Night Football. We watched the Cowboy's game on a screen in their backyard with some of the other college kids that were still in town.

Sunday the 19th brought our 2nd family celebration, and we were off to Era, TX (where Brad's GREAT-grandparents live - His dad's mother's parents) I got the privilige of going out there last year, and they were just as I'd remembered. The stories they tell and the love they have for each other is inspiring. In their 90's, they still have Christmas lunch at their house with presents for EVERYONE! And it's always fun to sit and watch them open their gifts as well!

My parents came down with my grandmother on Christmas Eve to go to the service at Fielder with Brad and me. We met up with Brad's family and headed out to dinner at Chili's afterwards...Did I mention it was BLIZZARD-like conditions on Christmas Eve?! Okay, maybe not THAT bad, but it was FREEZING cold, with TONS of wind, and snow that fell for HOURS! We were SO thankful that God sent us a White Christmas for our first Christmas together. It made for some beautiful pictures, as well as some unforgettable memories. After dinner, Brad and I headed over to his parents house to open up all the presents for Christmas celebration number three! We were excited to see what we had gotten, but even more, I couldn't wait to give Bryan and Deanne their present "we" had made for them. I put together a wedding album for both sets of our parents, and they turned out to be SO beautiful!

We woke up to a VERY cold and VERY white Christmas, and enjoyed exchanging our gifts from eachother (VERY early). I can't really explain my infatuation with stockings, but I LOVE them, and I love when mine has goodies in it on Christmas morning (even if it is fruits - which I no longer eat, and a toothbrush), but my mom and her "amusing" self wrapped up two sets of our flatware for Brad and I to unwrap and topped the stockings off with our favorite candies. (I had told her earlier in the week we'd "just pay for them, I don't want to get wedding gifts as Christmas presents") - Guess she showed me, and Brad didn't even know WHAT to think when we opened them! None-the-less, our flatware set is complete! We also got a frame from Santa for a picture we'd been waiting to hang! :) Guess we've been good this year!!

Presents were followed by breakfast...and breakfast was GREAT! We had egg casserole and blueberry muffins.

After breakfast, Brad and I ventured out on the icy roads so that we could meet up with his parents (who had MORE Santa presents for us) and head to Aubry, TX! Our 4th Christmas celebration was at Brad's grandparents (Bryan's parents) and his aunt Lou was also there. It was the first time I'd been out to his grandparents house so it was lots of fun to get to see where Bryan had grown up. However, it took us a little longer than expected to get there, and I'm pretty sure I didn't breath the WHOLE way!! We saw about 20 cars abandoned on the side of the road, saw a few with drivers still inside, saw one vehicle lose control, and passed one tricky hill/bridge (that some didn't make it over!)

Lunch was followed by a quick trip BACK to Arlington/Kennedale for Christmas celebration number five where we had dinner with Brad's grandparents (His mom's mom and her husband) and his uncle Brian was also there. It's ALWAYS fun when we are hanging out with Mema, Cliffy, and Uncle B!! We had Mema's famous chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes (which is one of Brad's favorites).

The night wasn't CLOSE to being over - we still had a drive to Sulphur ahead of us!! It was a fun one though. We had both pups with us and we sang worship songs at the top of our lungs! We got to Sulphur around 9:30 and Alan and Candice were already there waiting for Christmas celebration six . The boys were a little to excited which meant we were staying up and opening presents! It was fun though. We talked for a bit about how blessed we were and how God had answered so many prayers and provided so much for us over the last year. And it was FINALLY time to give my parents their wedding album :) I had waited FAR longer than I thought possible!!

We ended our Christmas season with celebration number seven in Sulphur Springs with the Armstrong family (Carrie's dad's parents), and the best present of the night was when our cousins Toby and Erica told everyone they are going to be having a baby!! We enjoyed soups and stews, great desserts, and as always, the gift "exchange."

It was amazing to go to each of those celebrations and have someone offer a prayer before the meal, not too many people are blessed with a family that is centered on Christ, but we are SURRONDED by it in ours. We have been shown repeatedly this year how blessed we are by our family, and we are so grateful that God allowed us to spend time with each of them over the holidays.