WOW! What a truly great Christmas it was this year! While we were a bit over-generous, we were still able to pay our bills - so that's good! (HaHa) We had all the boys home together and its been good. When it turned out that Roy didn't have to work after all, we made a last minute decision to open our gifts on Christmas Eve instead. This was also made possible because I had talked with Wolfie and Drew about who Santa really is and the Spirit of Christmas. (They already had a good idea of this anyhow, I simply confirmed it for them and, as Drew put it, took the fun out of it. Ah well, there was still plenty of fun to be had.) Even more funny, once Jr. and Corey realized the plan and that Aaron had also purchased gifts for everyone, the need to participate sunk in and they made a run for last minute gifts as well. Roy was trying to sleep when the boys bounded into the room to wrap their gifts and their inexperience at wrapping provided a rather comical scene.
When the kids could wait no longer, we gathered in the family room and Drew passed out the gifts. We dug in. Jr, Aaron, Candice, and Corey each received a speaker/alarm clock/charging dock for their iPhones, and I must add the sound is awesome. This was their "big" gift from me and Roy, but we also paid their phone bill for this month and since we do not have Corey's phone on our account we got him a water dispenser with a 5 gallon jug because he seemed so fond of ours. Each of our family members also received a Turvis Tumbler as my last effort to try to keep drinks from being confused and, consequently, wasted. I never thought I would see the day when I spent nearly $200.00 on cups! We included Candice and Miranda in this gift as well, as Candice is family, and Miranda and Corey have been going to counseling for a while now and attempting to work things out. Drew's "big" gift from us would be the cake pop maker supplies. She loves baking cookies and cupcakes, so we thought we'd expand her options a little more. But she did rake in the most gifts (clothes, gold earrings, several game cards, headphones, etc.) as hers are not as pricey as the gifts for the boys. Wolfie's "big" gift would likely be his wireless Turtle Beaches headphones which I better never find left on the floor - or else! But his gifts were all very pricey (xbox Live Points, and Game Points (I don't really understand all of the xbox stuff), a new Minecraft account (as Drew was taking over his old account), clothes, xbox memory card, etc.).
Jr bought Drew a large Lalaloopsy theme park with dolls, and Wolfie a $60.00 gift card to Game Stop (which was perfect for Wolfie because he had it spent as soon as he saw it). Aaron and Candice bought Drew a Disney Kinect Game, Wolfie an xbox game, Jr and Corey each got a Whataburger gift card, I got scented bath and lotion stuff (which smells so good!), and Roy a Dallas Cowboy blanket and Harley Davidson calendar (they know him so well). Corey bought Drew a Barbie movie (which turned out to be one of her favorites), and Wolfie a querty keyboard that attaches to his xbox controls (it's pretty cool!). Wolfie bought Aaron a subscription for a men's workout magazine, and Candice the season 2 dvds of Pretty Little Liars. Drew bought Aaron a headband and non-slip socks (because he is the workout enthusiast), and Candice a pretty black and white floral electric heated blanket (which she adores because her room gets pretty cold at times). Wolfie and Drew went in together (as it was expensive) and purchased the Far Cry xbox game, one for Jr, and one for Corey (this is the game Wolfie bought for himself as well with Jr's gift card).
The only thing lacking from the night was some yummy food. I had bought stuff to make enchiladas but hadn't planned to cook them until after Christmas, and with everything moving so fast on Christmas Eve there was little time to put anything together. But since we enjoyed having our Christmas on it's Eve, we plan to continue the tradition and next year will, hopefully, be planned out better.
The following day we swung by Roy's parents' home first. It was a huge hit this year as the younger children drew names for gift buying which was easier on everyone's pocket book. The adults (who wanted to play) brought a gift for the Elephant Game. We all laughed and had a good time, and even those who didn't play seemed to enjoy it (I'm hoping more will join in next year). Roy and I walked away with a gift card to Spec's Liquor, a gift card to Subway (that came with some holiday kitchen towels). Roy's gift for the game was a huge hit! A unique centerpiece that included beer bottles with the bottoms cut out, small candles placed inside each bottle, and sat in a metal holder.
From there, we ran over to my sister's home. Aaron was already there, but Jr and Corey stayed at their grandparents. Aaron doesn't care to visit Roy's parents as they were quite cruel to him when he was younger. Jr and Corey get along with my family but still seem much more comfortable at their grandparents' home. For this reason, and because they are older now and can come and go as they please, we are beginning to go separate directions for holidays. That's okay. This is how we all tend to do as we get older and begin having our own families.
In the past, we normally visit my family first, but as Roy's family began harping on us early to stop at their home first this year, we did. Either way, we had plenty to eat and it was all good. We arrived at Erica's and the kids were ready and waiting to open gifts. I had purchase some turquoise jewelry for my sisters and my eldest niece. Each piece was really pretty and hard to part with, but they enjoyed receiving them too. We sat and visited with everyone for a couple of hours before heading home. And it was a good Christmas day.
*
Roy was hoping to bring the entire family to Big Lou's Pizza in San Antonio this year for New Years, but money is tighter than expected so we likely won't. We've been invited to Erica's New Year's party again (it's become quite the tradition) but our plans remain to be seen. I suspect our nephews, who have stayed with us every weekend for the past two months will likely be over for the New Year too, and Wolfie will want to stay with them. Aaron and Candice will likely be with her parents as they have been doing every year. Corey will likely split to party with his friends, and Jr had talked about going to his old military base to visit friends (I think that would be really good for him).
*
Paige is gone. It's a good thing. It was an extremely unhealthy relationship, and anyone who saw it - knew it. While she left quite a while back, she had still been stringing him along on the phone for some time now. Finally fed up with it, he quit. He posted a rant on Facebook in an effort to finalize the deal for himself, and then he and I stayed up until 6:30 in the morning talking about it. I think he's finally back. He's ready to get on with college and work and life. He seems to have good days and bad days but he has been making good effort to get out and get involved. I'll be more assertive now with my effort to help him get into college. It's important to Jr to have a family. His family will always be his priority. He's so academically smart, and he is really thoughtful in his conversations and concerns. And kids! He is so good with kids! As much as he is worried for his life - he shouldn't be. He just needs to be patient.
*
Corey seems to be doing really good. I can honestly say that his rebellious nature seems to encourage independence - and that's what I've always wanted for the boys. Independence and stability - but also respectfulness (which he needs to work on some - but don't we all). As I said earlier in this post, he and Miranda have been attending counseling for some 18 weeks now. He says he enjoys it; however, Miranda not so much. He says she walks away from it just more upset and I'm certain that it stems from resisting responsibility for her part of the problems. She's not alone in that; Corey and her father-in-law are the same way. In our conversation, Corey told me, "I'm 19-20. I shouldn't be going through this already." An acknowledgement of maybe regret, but also realization too. He is growing and maturing, and I think the counseling truly is helpful for him. And I'm happy they are making such a big effort to work on their marriage.
*
The day after Christmas, Drew and I ran through the mall getting some exchanges made. After getting home, I began making enchiladas (50 of them this time! I usually do 60!), re-heated beans that were sent home with us from Erica and Mike's (Roy absolutely adores Mike's beans!), and cornbread. It was all devoured! I do love my enchiladas (sigh). Then we followed dinner with Drew's cakepops! It was our first attempt and, consequently, messy but we had lots of fun with it. And now, Roy and I are researching every How To video and website for cakepops made easy.
Too much fun maybe - Drew and Wolfie appear to be getting sick now.
No comments:
Post a Comment