Merry Christmas from Veitville

I hope your Christmas was filled with joy and love.

Our first married Christmas was an extremely blessed one and I couldn't have asked for a better day with the hubs.  We made the decision to spend Christmas day on our own believing in the importance of creating our own memories and traditions on this our first married Christmas.  Let me tell you folks, for all those about to get married, BEST DECISION EVER!!! (Both marriage, and spending Christmas on your own).

I'm telling you, nothing beats waking up on your own Christmas morning with the one you love.  Getting out of bed when you want.  Opening gifts with each other with your (insert drink of choice), without the fanfare or showiness that comes when you have to open gifts in front of the entire family.  (Am I just a jerk in that one?  I don't always like opening my gifts in front of people because there's an expectation for reaction…what if I don't like it?  Or what if I don't react how they wanted me to…?  Anyone?)  No expectations, no schedule, just the two of you and your hearts full of love, and the day to spend together without an audience is priceless! I even got to send Corey on a little treasure hunt for some of his gifts.  That was a blast!  Santa was good to us this year!

Our Christmas pickle!  Thanks McCullough family!

Corey had one of our favorite wedding photos printed on wood.

I LOVE this!  

I'm fueling the musician with more harmonicas. 

He played these a lot yesterday and I couldn't stop thinking about the Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas movie, or the Mickey Mouse Once Upon a Christmas version of Gift of the Magi.

My first Kate Spade purse EVER!!! I must have been EXTRA good this year!

We got to cook breakfast TOGETHER!  No one cooked it for us, and you know what?  That was awesome!  My mom and dad gave us a great new kitchen knife set, so we broke them in cutting up veggies to put in our mini quiche we made for breakfast.  I think cooking breakfast together may become a new family tradition.  I feel like in most households, moms make it ahead and pop it in the oven or something like that, and that's great for big family gatherings etc.  But I LOVE cooking with my husband.  There's something about dancing around in the kitchen making a meal you share together that is such a connecting and heart-filling experience.  And to eat together knowing it's something you both made.

Christmas Breakfast! Mini Quiche, strawberries, choc. chip bread, and Malibu Sunrise.

After breakfast we started prepping for Christmas dinner as crockpot lamb chops were on the menu, and again we both prepared it together!  Cooking lesson learned: ALWAYS buy pre-cut squash.  Never again will I buy a whole squash and try to skin and cut it myself.  Oh and here's where I also almost cut the tips of two of my fingers off with our great new knife set…that would've been a merry Christmas right there folks.  The knives are great and very sharp Mom and Dad! Thanks!  (No worries, just a small cut in the two fingers, no emergency.  Nothing a little neo-sporin and band-aid couldn't fix.)

Holiday Crockpot Lamb Chops! YUM!

We spent most of the day in our Christmas jammies watching two of my favorite Christmas movies, A Christmas Story, and White Christmas. (Love me some Bing Crosby!)  We cleaned up the Christmas wrapping explosion, catnapped on the couch, and eventually decided to get dressed just before dinner.

Yes, we wore matching flannel shirts!  Maybe we're starting a Christmas flannel tradition...

Christmas dinner for two was also delightful and our crockpot lamb chops were falling off the bone and melting in our mouths with tangy flavors of apple and cranberry.  (I love that we didn't go with traditional Christmas turkey…I don't know about you, but I'm always a little turkey-d out after Thanksgiving, and the two were extremely close together this year.)  We shared a bottle of Christmas wine sent up from my parents, and it was delicious!  Dessert was supplied by all my wonderful students. (I can't tell you the number of assorted homemade baked goodies I was gifted with this year!)

Making Christmas dinner is just so exhausting!

JK! (At least it wasn't this year.)

Empty plates, full tummies and hearts. :)

All in all, it was a perfect day.  We were blessed with quality time together.  We are blessed with the birth of our Savior.  We hope all of you had the merriest of Christmases with the love of Christ in your hearts, and we wish you many blessings in the new year!