What A Merry Christmas It Was

I'm ashamed to say that when Christmas time comes around I sometime get a case of the Gimmes.  I really have no problems making a wishlist and have no shame in making one.  My mom asks for it.  It makes her life easier.  I don't spend a lot of money on myself save for the occasional new release DVD that I can't pass up, a really good sale at Old Navy, or new workout clothes.  So it's fun to fantasize about bigger ticket items like a Kindle or a Keurig. 

I got a lot of gifts this year.  Paul and I both tend to go overboard and my mom goes overboar every. single. year.  She loves buying gifts for everyone and seeing their faces when they open the perfect gift.  And every year she says she's going to cut back.  And she never does.  I guess I get it from her.

But this year, even though I got a ton of gifts (including the aforementioned Kindle and Keurig), those had nothing to do with this being one of the best Christmases I can remember.  It may even be better than the year I got a Fisher Price record player, but that was a really great year, so I'm not sure.

This year, for the first time since Paul and I have been Paul and I, he didn't work on Christmas OR Christmas Eve.  we were able to spend all our time with our families and each other and it was really nice.  After shifting some schedules we got to spend quality, non-rushed time with both our families and we were able to focus on the moment instead of rushing to get to our next destination. 

We got to open gifts together just two days early, which beats our previous record by about a week (This year we opened them on the 22nd at about 11 PM.  Last year Paul called me while I was at work at least a week before Christmas and told me I had to come home righ away because he just couldn't wait any longer.)

Paul loves me enough to encourage my mania and buy me a One Direction hoodie.

We got to watch our niece discover all her gifts from Santa (even if she was burnt out before she'd even made a dent. 

We got to discuss merits of eating ranch dressing with pizza. 

We got to see my cousin DeeAnn and her husband, Jac, who we hadn't seen in three years.

We got to watch the people we love open the gifts that we spent so much time picking out.