The Mayans were wrong, the world is still spinning, and we have crossed into the year of our Lord 2013! (I was never concerned about the Mayan calendar, by the way.)
I hope everyone had a merry Christmas (or whatever holiday you happen to celebrate around this time of year). I sure did. There's nothing like being home for Christmas. And when home includes 9 younger siblings; mom & dad; a set of grandparents; and an aunt, uncle, and three cousins? Jackpot.
We were opening gifts all day. Literally.
By lunch, all the kids' eyes were glazed over. All my siblings like to buy for each other (well, the ones who have jobs), so we had gifts from grandparents, aunts and uncles, my parents, people in the church, and seven siblings. It was crazy.
And to top it all off...
My little sister got engaged!
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| The five sisters. Destiny (middle) is the one who is now wearing a ring! |
On Christmas Eve, we attended the service at my dad's church after which we retired to my parents' house to open one gift each. At the end, Destiny's now-fiancé showed up and surprised her. It was beautiful. Everyone was crying and hugging and oggling the stunning, vintage ring. I wish I'd gotten a picture of it... but I failed to take any pictures after the service.
Shocking, I know.
Anyway. My kids loved spending time with their Nanna and Papaw. Hallie's vocabulary practically exploded while we were there. She says at least 10 new words, including Papaw. My heart melted when I witnessed her following my daddy around saying his name.
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| Too tired to smile, but still taking my breath away. |
I so wish I'd gotten a picture of them together. :(
Gabriel got confused about Mommy and Daddy's names. He called me both Tay-tay (the name my little brothers call me) and Taylor over the course of the week. I corrected him both times. "Excuse me?! What is my name?! Mama!"
And today, after I told him that Papaw was my daddy, he responded, "Yeah! And my daddy is Drew!"
What?! This kid is too smart.
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| My baby brother is two years older than my son. How adorable are they in their matching outfits?! |
It was an amazing week. I didn't want it to end. I hate saying goodbye to people I love. I cherish the busyness of my family. With so many people around, there's always something going on.
But at the same time, there's something wonderful about coming home. I missed my bed, alone time with my babies, cooking for four, and finding quiet snatches of time to read. (One thing about my parents' house: It's rarely quiet, especially with 25 people in it!) It's hard to decide what I miss more -- my family when I'm home or home when I'm away!
Honestly, I don't have time to think about it this week... Christmas is hardly over for our family! The in-laws are coming on Friday to stay the weekend and I have to unpack, get the house ready, buy groceries, bake, and wrap more gifts! Whew!
I'm going to be one busy lady the next few days... but stay tuned for a post on my goals for 2013!
How exciting to have such a large family and to enjoy spending time with them! :) And congrats to Destiny, too!
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