Miss me?

Happy New Year!  Did you miss me?  I kind of fell off the map there towards the end of December.  I'm terribly sorry, but the last few days leading up to Christmas were CR-AZY for us and then I've just been enjoying the break from work, from showering, and just from life in general that the last two weeks has been for our family.

Because I know you've all been waiting with bated breath to discover what was on tap for the last 5 days of the Russell Family 25 Days of Christmas...
Friday, Dec 21 we drove to Augusta to participate in the annual Corry family Christmas "Eve" Spectacular.  The idea was to stop at Starbucks and get a hot treat about midway through our drive.  Totally forgot that the Starbucks in Madison closed. Like a year ago. Yet another fail.
Saturday, Dec 22 was the famous Christmas Eve Spectacular.  I think Aunt Judy had the tally at 52 people this year, which, if you can believe it, is a bit of a down year. We took not one single picture, but had a fantastic time, as always.
Sunday, Dec 23 was the camp-out under the Christmas tree.  The plan was to blow up our air mattresses and all snuggle up by the tree, watch a Christmas movie, and fall asleep. But I had to serve at the 4:30 service at church–we drove straight there from Augusta and then went to dinner with some friends. So we didn't get home until 8:30 and by the time we had unpacked the car and gotten the beds set up, I was kind of out of Christmas spirit.  We did watch the start of a movie and the kids fell asleep, so Jruss and I cheated and went and got in our warm, comfy beds for the rest of the night. Gman ended up wetting the bed (sorry dude) about 5:30 in the morning, so our Christmas tree camp-out ended with everyone sleeping in their beds. Oh well, thought that counts.
Monday, Dec 24 was our traditional fondue supper.  Ever since our second Christmas, Jruss and I have enjoyed some awesome cheese fondue while we watch "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation."  This year, in order to get the kids interested, I decided to add chocolate fondue to our menu. It was awesome.  I had a platter of stuff to dip in that chocolate that would have made The Melting Pot proud.  Did our kids eat it? Of course not.  Did we let them watch the movie? Of course not.  The non-TBS version of that movie is NOT appropriate for kiddos.  But Jruss and I certainly enjoyed it.
And of course the last day of the 25 days of Christmas was Christmas day and a big hit for everyone.  Kids woke us up at 7:15–the latest Christmas morning we've had since having Garrett. We don't do anything on Christmas day.  It is just glorious.  The house is a mess.  The kids play all day long. I take naps and read People magazine. Jammies all day long. Phone calls and Face Time with families. Such a wonderful way to wrap up the season.

So even though it kind of fizzled out towards the end, I call the Russell Family 25 Days of Christmas a rousing success.  I am so glad I did it.  Even more glad that I documented it here. These are truly wonderful days with our kiddos.  I am trying to soak up every minute of having a 5 and 8 year old. I want them to have fun memories of their childhood and hope this is one way of achieving that goal.

I have lots more to update you on.  But you'll have to wait until tomorrow.

Happy to be back!