Merry and Bright ...

The holidays were a bit different for our family this year.  The bigger and busier our family gets the harder it is to work around everyone’s schedule. This year we ended up having our holiday celebration with Dwight’s parents, sister Nadene and her family on December 23^rd.  Of course the kids were super excited to see their cousins and open up presents before Christmas.

~ Justin watching Grandpa Bruce open up a present ~ 

~ Makenna and Memphis playing with his new truck carrier ~

This year there was no annual “Hodges Party” on Christmas Eve (Dwight’s Mother’s Extended Family).  So for the 1^st time in 10+ years we spend Christmas Eve with my family.  My sister and her husband Bob cooked a fabulous festive dinner that was delicious … we topped of the evening with lots of wine, presents and Justin loose tooth finally falling out!

~ Sadly I have NO pictures cause I forgot my camera so we took photos with my sisters camera ... maybe she will read this and decide to forward them to me :) ... if she does I will post a few later!! ~

Yep … Double Duty … Santa and the Tooth Fairy after several bottles of wine! I’m happy to say everything ended up in the right stocking!!

My dad and Bobbye joined us Christmas morning for breakfast and “the opening of presents” chaos. It’s always lots of fun watching Justin and Makenna open presents. I got so into watching them this year that I almost forgot about taking pictures. Normally I have dozens to look at … this year I only took a few. Opps!

 ~ Justin was SUPER EXCITED about his Manning Jersey ~

 ~ Makenna and her Hello Kitty CD player from Aunt Lori ~

 ~ Aunt Lisa (my bff) hooked Justin up with a Polamalu Jersey and an Apron for Makenna ~

 ~ The Mess ~

Ahh…. by noon I was exhausted.  Makenna and I were lucky enough to get a Christmas Afternoon Nap before a quick visit to the cemetery … We took mom some red flowers and a darling outdoor present yard stake I found at Hobby Lobby.  There is a big pine tree near mom’s headstone ... after our visit this year Dwight and Justin decided that next year they are going to bring a ladder to the cemetery and decorate Grandma H’s tree!  Its special moments like this that warms my heart.  

We ended our day with a special Christmas dinner with Bruce and Sharon (Dwight’s Parents).   It’s such a blessing to have our families close … creating memories and sharing the joys of Christmas … helping make our holiday MERRY AND BRIGHT!