Christmas & married

This Christmas was our first as a married couple. It was very fun to start traditions with Ben and think about what we want our holidays to look like for us. We thought it would be fun to have a "candle night" which we decided is when you do everything by candle light. So obviously it makes for a simple night of game playing or talking. Cooking was too difficult to do by candle light - I wound up turning on the kitchen light - so I think next year we will have to prepare ahead of time or get take out...But that was our Christmas Eve Eve. We really liked it, it was fun to have a change of pace right before Christmas to hang out together, laugh, and play.

Decorating was very very fun! I bought a few things to make the house feel warm and cozy but left most of what I wanted to buy for after Christmas to get 50% off...But even with the few decorations I had the house looked like Christmas. We got a tree and put white lights on it. We have somewhere around 30 ornaments and then I bought a box of 50 cheap red ones from IKEA to give some color and coordination to the tree. I hung the Christmas Cards we got on ribbon in the dining room. I think the dining room was our most decorated room :) We were pleased with how our house was decorated. We were very happy to have a house for our first Christmas :) After Christmas sales were awesome! I got reindeer stocking holders, lighted garland, ornaments, snowflakes, bowls, tons and tons of lights to decorate the outside next year, a very pretty tree skirt, and a pretty red table cloth. After thinking about the table cloth (which was only $5) I thought that it might be good as curtains in my living room. I have some tan ones up now and I thought that it I made those panels and the red table cloth into equal widths I could have tan and red curtains. I am trying to find someone with a sewing machine so I can borrow it and try my hand at making the curtains!

Back to actual Christmas: We spent Christmas Eve with my family at my parents' house. I made enchiladas for our Mexican feast. We ate dinner, laughed, opened a present which is always fun to get a taste of what the next morning will be like. I opened coffee cups from my sister Joanna (matching ones for me and Ben), and I don't remember what Ben opened that night. It was nice to be with my family, we watched A Christmas Story and I fell asleep...I didn't even feel that tired but apparently I was! But we went home and I loved thinking that I would be waking up on Christmas with my husband!

We had decided to open our presents to each other (except for one which was already at his parents' house) He gave me a set of camel color flannel sheets and a set of cream color 1,000 thread count sheets. He also gave me a plum color, warm and pretty throw :) I gave him the movie A Christmas Story, a crock pot cook book, and with his parents bought him a 32 G ipod touch. He really wanted it but didn't think he was going to get it because it was out of everyones' price range. But we were able to split the cost and give Ben what he really wanted. And it has proved to be worth the cost and really is the "funnest ipod."

We went to his parents house at 7am Christmas morning to be with them. It was fun but different to be with them rather than my family. I was struggling with being sad but at the same thoroughly enjoying our time with them. I am so thankful that his family and I all get along well and can have fun together. They have Christmas music playing and try to make it as dark as possible to make it feel like early morning through the whole present opening.

We went to my parents' at 9 to have another Christmas morning :) My family does it later in the morning because we like to sleep in and we wait for my dad's mom, our Nana, comes over. 2 of my cousins live here now so they were over as well. 10 people made for a busy Christmas morning! We always make sure to have a fire going and coffee cups handed out before we start. We had a great time with my family but left shortly after noon to go to Ben's grandparent's.


I am so out of time...I will write about the afternoon later but need to go hang out with my sisters right now. I have like 1 more week with them living in phx before they move to tucson again :(