Christmas morning was crazy! I’m not gonna lie, there was a TON under the tree for Charlie to open. I thought I scaled it down this year (which I did), but it still felt like a lot. Maybe it’s just her age…she got overwhelmed about halfway through her stocking, and that wasn’t even the beginning. We ended up “misplacing” some of the gifts that we had bought her, and I’m glad we did because the gifts from family stood out, as they should.

The biggest hits were a life-sized penguin (from Santa), a Little People “Racin’ Ramps Garage” (from Auntie Janet), and her very own Camelbak water bottle (because she’s always stealing mine).Vann and I had all these grand plans for our first solo Christmas morning, but alas, not many of them panned out. By the time we even got to stockings/presents it was 11 am and past breakfastime. Vann kept his part of the deal and whipped up a delicious savory eggs benedict, but I’m afraid my monkey bread recipe is still sitting out on the kitchen counter, as we speak. I just couldn’t tackle it that day.It was very strange being “alone” on Christmas. I am used to “doing Christmas big”…I still get a Santa and I’m 31! This year, as I’ve said before, we were and are in survival mode, and it sort of felt rushed and unorganized (NOT for any lack of planning/effort on my sweet hubby’s part). I know that Vann and I will look back on this messy Christmas and laugh at all of the chaos and piled-up laundry. But, who can argue the magnitude of God’s blessings on our family. I know that when I look at my two beautiful girls, and I am eternally grateful!!