Perfectly Imperfect: Christmas season 2022

Now that Valentines Day has come and gone, I needed to get on the ball and post about Christmas. I am so behind!

I had a lot of grand plans for this holiday season, and unfortunately, some of them just didn't work out. Although disappointing, sometimes you just can't do everything. With everything we had going on during this time, we had to take a step back for a little bit. Paige missed her Christmas program. We didn't go see lights at Patti's like I had planned. We also missed the showing of the Nutcracker. We were still able to do a few fun things and made it a great holiday season!

CFC had a festive set up for pictures during the month of December so we took advantage of it.

Paige went on a field trip to see "The Nutcracker". I had bought tickets three months before and had no clue school would take them on a field trip in first grade. She thought it was boring and didn't want to go see it again. I asked Paige what she thought of it after the field trip that day. The only thing she noticed was the man in tights. Use your imagination, but she described his front side as looking like a baby's brain in those tights. 😂😂😂

The weekend before Christmas we went to see a showing of "The Santa Clause" with my parents at Derby Dinner Playhouse. It was a great Christmas outing. Adam drove and allowed us (lol) to listen to Christmas music on the way. I love to soak up the season as much as I can.

Keeping Paige entertained with snapchat...

Adam just LOVES the Christmas season!

Ella turned 14 this year. How is that even possible!? She was going to stay home on her birthday but decided she didn't want to miss their Christmas party. We celebrated with presents and cake after school that day.

I am so lucky to be her mom. Kids are supposed to learn from their parents, but I have learned so much from her over the years. I was so incredibly naive before I had kids. She has taught me more about life, unconditional love, and acceptance than anyone else I have ever known. I appreciate so many things about her. She's quiet, honest, patient, quirky, and smart. She makes me laugh a lot with her honesty and the comments she makes. She is a great kid!

It wouldn't be Christmas without an ear infection. The morning of the last day of school Paige couldn't sleep and told me she had something in her ear. I knew immediately she had an ear infection. I kept her home that day and the doctor confirmed my suspicions. Yet again, Paige missed her Christmas party at school. She obviously wasn't too upset. She loves a day home with mom.

We were lucky this year and got snow and COLD weather a couple of days before Christmas. There is nothing better than snow at Christmastime.

It's hard to tell in this picture, but Paige was about ready to blow away. A record was set the following day with the coldest day on record. It was BITTER COLD.

Although it was bitter cold, Paige wanted to get out of the house for a bit to sled. We bundled up as best as we could and went out for ten minutes. That was all we could handle. My hands hurt even with gloves on by the time we went in the house. It's hard to enjoy the snow when it is that cold out.

Christmas finally rolled around, and we were more than ready for it. I love Christmas, but it makes me sad to see the season end.

I always take a few photos with my self-timer before we head over to my parent's house for Christmas Eve. By Christmas Day, I'm usually exhausted and taking pictures is about last on my priority list.

Adam and I celebrated our 20th Christmas together. I love to think back to our first Christmas. Although we didn't spend Christmas Eve together, we did get to spend Christmas Day together. I drove to his mom's house super early in the morning only to find him sick as a dog. I was meeting his extended family for the first time, and he was down in the basement with a fever most of the day. Lol!

The fam 💕

Christmas at Mammy and Peep's house!

Both of my parents put a lot of time and effort into making Christmas special for everyone. Christmas Eve is one of my favorite days of the year.

We always open gifts as soon as we get there, and then we can eat in peace. It's crazy that these two are teenagers now. I still think back to when they were babies/little kids on Christmas Eve. They grow up so quickly. Although they are older, they both still love Christmas.

The fam eating our traditional Christmas Eve meal. It's so good!

It would not be Christmas without this spinning dessert tray. My mom has had it for years, and I look forward to it every year. It's the star of the show! ;)

That night, Paige put out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer. Those cookies were extra yummy. I'm sure Santa enjoyed them!

I love Christmas, but it also comes along with some stress as well. I never know how much sleep I'm going to get. Paige was up at 3am and ~~could not~~ would not go back to sleep. We ended up on the couch after I threatened her life if she tried to touch or open anything. I have just come to face the fact that Christmas is exhausting. Thank goodness for Santa though, he does all the hard work. ;)

It is a tradition to go through stockings first and open gifts after. We always have to have the movie, "A Christmas Story" playing as well.

The genuine smile says it all. All the hard work was worth it!

I love this shirt. Math is the devil!!

Christmas morning!

Once we finished opening gifts, we did a quick clean-up to get ready for round two. We hosted Christmas day lunch at our house this year. We have gone to Maw and Papaw's house for lunch and gifts for many years, but things were different this year. I was happy to do whatever was needed so we could all still have a nice day together.

The day after Christmas I was surprised to wake up and see more snow. It was the perfect snow for sledding. Paige didn't want to go alone so Rylee was able to come over and go sledding with us. This was Rylee's first time sledding. They had a ton of fun together.

The joy on their faces say it all! The snow provided a lot of fun. They started on a really small hill in case Rylee was scared but moved right on up to the big one.

Rylee got the hang of it quickly and wanted to go by herself.

Adam brought the golf cart over and pulled them around on the sled by a rope. That was a hit with both of them.

We had a ton of fun and wore them out! It was a great morning sledding. These are the kinds of memories that will last a lifetime.

I planned a small getaway to Nashville to break up Christmas break. Ella ended up not wanting to go so she stayed at Mammy and Peep's house. It was a good thing she did, because I don't think she would have enjoyed this outing.

We ate lunch at Chuy's downtown. We introduced Paige to their jalapeño ranch, and she was hooked.

Since we couldn't check into our hotel yet, we went to the cutest area called 12 South. Its a street with boutiques, restaurants, and coffee shop. It was a really nice day so it was perfect for just walking around.

This place is a cereal bar but we opted for coffee and ice cream. It was really cute, and they had great coffee.

The reason we went to Nashville was to go to "Enchant." It's was a Christmas light display set up at a park. It was beautiful but so crowded. I'm glad we were able to see it, but it would have been better with fewer people.