Something a little special...(& Merry Christmas!)

This last Sunday Kyle and I made the trek to the thriving metropolis of Republic, Kansas to celebrate Christmas with the Hurley side of my family.  I feel like we have fewer and fewer chances anymore now that we are older to get together and see everyone, so it was a special treat that all of my cousins were there except for two (we definitely missed having Amanda and Brandon there, but a day trip from Salt Lake City might be a bit out of the question!).  It was really nice to be able to catch up with everyone on their lives and get to spend some quality time with my grandparents.  I am starting to realize that the older they get, the more special the time is I get to spend with them.  It's hard to see them get older, especially when I think back on all of the memories of them when I was younger.

My grandparents had a special Christmas present for Kyle's and I's first Christmas.  When Grandma told me it was something "breakable" so she did not want to send it in the mail, I don't think I have been so excited for a Christmas present in a really long time!  See, growing up, my mom had this stained glass nativity set she put out every year that my grandma herself made.  I LOVE my mom's nativity set; it is so pretty and so special knowing that my grandma made it.  My grandma became severely ill a couple of years ago and even though she has since recovered, she never has been able to take back up her stained glass making.  I kind of just assumed that I would have to inherit my mom's set if I ever wanted one of my grandmother's stained glass nativity scenes.  Well, to my surprise I found out that grandma has a nativity set stashed away for each of the grandkids (to give out after we each get married) and that was our special Christmas gift this year from my grandparents!  This is probably one of my favorite Christmas presents ever!  I already have it set-up in the kitchen in a safe place so the dogs can't break anything.  Here's a picture:



Tomorrow is my last day of work for the week before the holiday.  I did finally get my Christmas shopping done on Monday.  Nothing like waiting until the last minute!  I've decided this year that Christmas is just one day that is more about the time we spend with the special people in our lives and less about the things that we give and get.  I get everything wrapped tonight before we hit the road tomorrow, but at least it got done! 

Let's hope the weather cooperates for our travels to Wichita tomorrow.  I can't wait to see more friends and family over the holiday weekend.  In the mean time, Merry Christmas to everyone!!

Fa La La La La....

Last night I met up with a few of my favorite ladies for some cheese and chocolate at The Melting Pot.  On Monday nights they have a ladies night special that is a pretty good deal and made for a good excuse to get together right before the holidays!  I can't believe that Christmas is so close so it was nice to have some time to slow down and catch up with the girls before the craziness of the holidays take over (and before Liz leaves us for Iowa!).  It's these get togethers that remind me that I have such a great group of friends, the amazing cheese and chocolate were definitely a close second to the great company and conversation.

Besides spending time with some of my favorite people, I'm trying to figure out my Christmas shopping and what I am going to get people this year.  I am still struggling to get in the "spirit" to go shopping (though I've been in the Christmas spirit to decorate, bake and such); I am having a hard time coming up with just the right thing to get for those I'm buying for, especially my husband!  I'm hoping a wave of creativity will come over me in the next day or so, so I can get my shopping done started.

I am looking forward to getting to spend some time with family over the holiday.  Unfortunately, our plans to possibly trek out to the mountains fell through but that's okay because we'll get to see our two favorite Colorado residents while they're in Mulvane.  After a day or two at the in-laws we are going to spend some quality time with my family.  It will be nice to not have to travel as much this year (and hopefully we won't be driving through post-blizzard conditions like we did last year!). 

Wish me luck on my Christmas present shopping, this could be interesting :).

Baby it's cold outside....

Ahhh....it's that time of year again!!!  I'm one of "those" people with a freakish love of Christmas.  When I was growing up I had my own little tree for my room that I could decorate and every year I would have that tree in my room, along with lights that I hung from the ceiling all the way around my room. 

Last year in our tiny 900 sq. foot house I had 3 (yes...3) trees; the big tree in the dining room, the medium tree in the front room so Kyle could hang his hunting decorations and a little fiber optic tree in the kitchen.  I resisted the urge to hang lights around the outside of the house (Kyle isn't going to be so lucky this year, though I'm going to ease into it, one strand along the front).

This year I have cut back to two trees instead of three.  I have found other ways though to "enhance" our holiday spirit.  This involved two trips to Michaels and one to Hobby Lobby to hunt for more holiday decorations (as if I didn't already have enough).  I found some cute red and green blocks that spell out JOY and NOEL.  I also got some country-esque garland (I wouldn't want to distract from the hunting theme in our living room) to put on top of the entertainment center.  I also broke down and bought some new decorations for the tree.  I reasoned that after 5 years of decorating the tree the same way it was time for a change, though I didn't go crazy.  All of the new decorations for the tree only cost us $6, so I would say I got a pretty good deal (thank you Michael's!).

Usually along with decorating I get pretty excited to go Christmas shopping to buy present for friends and family.  One of my favorite things is seeing them get excited about the gifts that I/we give them.  For some reason this year I am having a really hard time getting motivated to get my shopping done.  I think part of it has something to do with not wanting to spend the money this year (lame, I know).  The other part I think is not wanting to have to deal with the mall...and crowds....and lines.  Maybe this is the year I should venture into the world of online shopping.  I need to figure it out soon though, because Christmas will be here before we know it!

In the mean time I will continue to listen to my Christmas music on Pandora (Kenny G, I heart you), enjoy the Christmas decorations and try to motivate myself to get my Christmas shopping done!