Christmas is officially over

That may not sound so good to some, but I am actually a little relieved. It makes me feel like a Scrooge though. We went into Christmas thinking that it would be very low key and sort of relaxing this year. All of the Abrahams (minus us) were in Utah, so we felt like we had a lot less going on this year. However, it didn't end up feeling that way. We spent Christmas Eve at my parents house with my siblings and their kiddos. First off, there were way too many people in that house. We had some really good food, of course, and got to watch all the kids open their gifts. Jackie gave all of the kids union suits with their names on the behinds, very cute! Can you find Jackson? He was the only one that would stick out his tush. Jackson also got a remote control four wheeler from his Aunt and Uncle, of which he still hasn't played with because there are no batteries and I can't seem to leave the house to get any. Jared got a meat smoker, grill thing! It was really nice, and I think he's pretty excited to use it. I got a mini crock pot and a pair of pinkensheers, and I'm excited to use those. Colin got a really cute onezie with his name on it, and a super cute stuffed Camel. I know Mom was stressed out the whole time, but we did have a good time, and are very thankful for all the great gifts. The next day was our day to be at home together as a family. It was kind of nice for it to just be us. Jackson had a real good time as usual opening his presents. He is very enthusiastic! He got a box of instruments from Aunt Heidi, a light bright thing from dad, a new Vtech game (he calls it the Vbox, like dad's Xbox, and now Grandma and Grandpa have a Wiibox), and he got his favorite, the HotWheels racetrack. Jared got a really nice dutch oven and a pocket knive and a new set of Scriptures (of which I don't think he's going to use now after Heidi went to all the trouble to have them sent to us, because he downloaded the scriptures to his new IPhone that his boss got him). Jared got me a new phone, an mp3 player, and a vaccuum cleaner that ended up not working and UPS has yet to come pick it back up. It was still a nice gift though. After all the gift opening, we invited my parents and brother Chase over to introduce them to Christmas Breakfast. Jared cooked for all of us, and it turned out so good! They really enjoyed it too. That was probably my favorite part of all of the Christmas gatherings, just relaxing around the house after Christmas Breakfast. A couple days later, on Saturday, we were having our usual big family gathering at my cousin D'Anna's house. That just so happened to be the morning I woke up with Mastitis. I felt pretty awful all day, and didn't really get to enjoy that as much as I normally would, but it was nice to see some family that I don't get to see very often. I also got see my cousin and her baby, who is just eight days older than Colin. Jackson had fun playing with all of the kids and opening more gifts. I took a few days, but I finally started felling better. Just in time for our annual AbraLutz White Elephant Christmas party on New Year's Eve. We and the Lutz's have done this for the past two years now, and always have such a good time. I have to give the Lutz's all the credit this year though. They were so great, she even came over and helped me clean to get ready for it. It just so happened that this year it was scheduled for the same night as the stake dance, so we didn't have a very big turn out, but he still had a great time. We played Catch Phrase, Guesstures, and Boulderdash. We had our gift exchange and everyone stayed till after the ball dropped. We had a a nice Christmas, but I am a little glad it's over. I am looking forward to this next year, watching Colin grow, watching the two boys learn to play together, and maybe getting back in shape a little bit. We'll see...



This pictures a little blurry, but it's almost a smile. I have been trying really hard to get a picture of a smile. As for Colin, he still continues to grow, and he is so strong! He can roll himself off a pillow and I often joke that he's going to start walking because he can support himself so well with his legs. He's gonna be a big boy!