#shamblinchristmas

i've been putting off writing this. well, writing in general, i suppose. and i'm not sure why. when i started this blog, i told myself i wasn't going to force it. i would let it come naturally. whenever that may be. and there are times when i feel incredibly inspired to write & share & just seem full of words & thoughts...and that is typically when i lay down around 11 to sleep--why is that??!! all of a sudden i have such clarity of thought. i thought twice the other night to get back up & start writing. then i thought, wouldn't it be awesome if i was like neurologically plugged into my mac & it would type what i was thinking. alas, i stayed in bed & sided with sleep (AS ALWAYS).  

alright, so about a week or two before christmas, my mac crashed. and i was in full blown mourning mode. the techs said it could just be a virus they would clean it & everything would be just as it was...OOORRRR it could have already wiped everything out & i would lose everything & then have to pay a couple hundreds dollars to get the hard drive replaced. dljaoidkanaordkdsmabborl!!!!! THANKFULLY, it was the former & it was no big deal! "praise hands"

christmas. it was olive's first time. she was a champ. kennedy did, indeed, get that cd walkman that she wanted & lincoln got his lsu helmet & jersey. olive made the nice list & got her rocking horse. and emma was surprised with a new bed & dresser that she's been begging me for & i kept telling her we weren't going to fool with that right now (OH THE LIES WE TELL FOR CHRISTMAS). i was glad to see christmas come just for the mere fact that i could tell no more lies. hide no more gifts. make up no more stories. IT WAS EXHAUSTING. i needed a flowchart. 

as far as decor went this year, the kids kinda went at it. and i was totally cool with that. so word to yo mommas out there with little ones who make it hard for you to do anything-more less decorate, especially for christmas-one day it will all be worth it! mind you, they took most of the decorations to each of their own rooms to decorate, but considering i was favoring an even more simplistic look this year, it all worked out. and per our agreement last year, the kids got to do the tree. and they put every. last. stinkin. ornament we own on that darn tree. every bead strand. every school-made, laminated cutout. EVERY-THING. i admit i had visions of a sparse tree decorated with found items from nature...but YOU GUYS, when it was all done...L.O.V.E. that tree was the best darn tree this side of the mississippi. and they were so proud of it. 

on christmas eve we spent the late morning hours at my grandmother's house with a billion cousins & their babies. then we travelled to my mother-in-law's where the kids dove into mounds of gifts because she loves to spoil those kids rotten. then we came home & put on our new jam jams that grandma always gets them, lit some candles & hubs read, the night before christmas & tonight you are my baby- a story told by mary of jesus' birth, per our tradition. we discussed with the kids the importance of this holy night......and then lincoln got mad at his sister for something she said & she kicked him & he screamed & accidentally hit me during his fit causing him to get yelled at by hubs leaving almost everyone crying. happy birthday jesus. and off they all scuttled off to bed with visions of angry sugar plums dancing in their heads. 

how about one of my fav things about christmas morn! this year, we hosted my mom, dad, sisters & grandma for christmas lunch. our house may be tiny but i don't care. our hearts & bellies were surely full. i loved every minute of it. even the weird glares from everyone as i walked around turning off lights & lighting candles. was the andy williams christmas record playing in the background too much?? i think not. it felt magical. 

it's not always pretty

OH! my fav gift! hubs & i said we wen't exchanging gifts this year. and honestly, if i didn't know of something that he for sure wanted, i wouldn't have got him anything. there is nothing more annoying to him than buying gifts for the sake of buying. BUT he had mentioned a few times how much he'd like to have a pair of the wicked good house shoes by l.l.bean. so i snuck around to get enough money to secretly order him a pair. i love surprises! in turn, i was also surprised (which is a very rare thing)! he got me the wallet that was on my "one day maybe dream shopping list" made by our local river city leather crew. guys, i didn't know how much i wanted a wallet until now that i have it. how did i live without it???

hoping you & yours had a peaceful holiday season full of love & hot rolls.

xo

@hellolittlenest 

#shamblinchristmas