Writing a Christmas post seems so daunting to me. I sat down several times today, each time I failed to type a single word. There is something about the magic that surrounds Christmas, the fact that it only comes once a year, that we are celebrating something so sacred, that makes it unlike anything else we experience. I want so badly to do it justice, I want to look back in 10 years and read the words I have written, look at the accompanying pictures and trigger memories that have been tucked away. I want to remember vividly the image of Braylen waking up on Christmas morning, the first year she really got it. Her unruly curls, her sleepy eyes, her polka dot pajamas, I don’t want to leave out a single detail.

We spent part of Christmas Eve with Allen’s family and for dinner, we spent time with my family. Both times, Braylen stole the show, or made it a show, rather. She sang loudly, her version of her favorite Christmas songs. Go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is one. She sang Jingle Bells and got stuck on a never ending loop, each time. And the Hippopotamus song was the crowd-pleaser, by far.

I stopped her just long enough to get an obligatory family photo.

Her excitement level was at an all-time high as she opened her gifts.

And I even managed to squeeze in a picture with my favorite girl.

We talked about Santa on the way back home from Nanny’s house. How we would leave out milk and cookies, and leave out reindeer food for the hungry reindeer. When we got home we quickly changed into Christmas pajamas and left Santa some cookies and milk. Of course, BK tried to sample one before she went upstairs to bed.

We talked about the story of Jesus’ birth, the real Christmas story, and quickly spread the reindeer food in our front yard. Snuggled up, in front of the fireplace we read ‘Twas The Night Before Chrsitmas and she was clear about one thing, Santa does not need to be on our roof.  She said goodbye to her elf, Lucy, even though she was a little sad that Santa would be taking her back to the North Pole.

She has been sure about one thing this Christmas, a pink Barbie jeep. It is the one and only thing she asked for and she started asking for it around Thanksgiving. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, she never wavered. She never changed her mind and made sure to let Lucy know each day about the Barbie jeep.

This was the first Christmas we didn’t either stay with my parents, or head straight to their house when we woke up. So my parents came over and stayed with us. I was adamant about not wanting Braylen to be rushed on Christmas morning, I didn’t want to spend the day on the road, traveling from place to place. But I still felt a little sad about not spending the morning with my parents. I was so excited when they decided to stay the night with us. My dad and Allen cooked breakfast on Christmas morning for everyone. And family stopped by throughout the morning.

Christmas morning brought tons of questions and funny comments from her inquiring mind, Did Santa take my Lucy? I guess he just used his magic powers to come down the chimney. Why didn’t those reindeer eat all that food? And she thought it was too funny that Santa ate all of the cookies and drank the milk.

Later that day, we had one last place to visit, my other grandparents (my dad’s family). Braylen was without a nap, but she did really good, considering all of the excitement.

And the best picture we could snag of our family on Christmas day.

This Christmas will be one to remember. Allen spoiled me with so many things I’ve had on my “wish list” all year. But most importantly, I felt incredibly thankful and blessed to spend it with my family. To cherish each and every precious moment. To see Braylen’s sweet heart in action and to watch her light up the room with her infectious laugh. Our girl is growing up and I couldn’t be more proud of the person she is shaping into.

Our Christmas festivities started way back at the beginning of December. But with Christmas falling on a Tuesday, the weekend before was packed full of fun with our friends and family. I can’t tell you how much love and Christmas spirit filled that short span, it was enough to make my heart full before the 25th even arrived.

On Friday, we had dinner with Allen’s family. Braylen was looking forward to this all week long. She kept asking, How much more days ’til I see Bailey and Lawson? She adores her cousins and I love how happy she is to be able to spend time with them. I grabbed my camera on the way out and failed to include my memory card. I try to maintain this cool and calm, organized and put-together image, but it’s slowly fading. I’ve deeming 2013 my year of refocus. Actually, it was a nice change to be camera-free. I’m sure Cindy took some excellent photos that I plan on snagging from her later. I did take this picture on my phone of Braylen playing with her new tea set.

On Saturday, we went to Allen’s grandmother’s house to spend some time with her as a family. Allen’s grandfather passed away in May so it was important for us to be with her as much as possible during this tough season. Last year, I never thought that we would spend this Christmas without him, it clearly showed us how fragile life truly is. He always cherished Christmas and the excitement that it brought the grandchildren, I know he would have enjoyed this evening together.

Mawmaw cooked a yummy meal (including Allen’s favorite, dressing). Braylen kept us entertained with her medley of Christmas songs and her stellar dance moves. Then, everyone moved on to coloring, including a couple of “big kids.’

After leaving Mawmaw’s house, we headed straight to Mt. Fuji to meet up with Brooke and Josh for Reese’s birthday dinner. I think Braylen can eat more in one setting at a hibachi restaurant than she does in an entire week at home. Apparently I need to convert the cooktop in the kitchen to a hibachi grill and cook her rice for dinner.

We had a great time catching up with Josh and Brooke and Braylen was ecstatic that Reese shared her birthday desert. Sweet friends.

After church on Sunday, we had lunch with Debbie and Philip (and my parents, of course) and exchanged gifts. I need to document my sweet toddler because I might want to pull this memory out during her pre-teen years. One of her gifts was pajamas and she smiled so big as she pulled them from the box and exclaimed, “Pajamas! Just what I wanted!” Each and every time she opened a gift she was full of excitement and joy. She was thankful and gracious and I couldn’t be more proud of her sweet little heart. I hope she never loses that joy and excitement over the holidays, I hope she is always just as happy to spend time with family, gifts or not.

We wrapped up our weekend with pajamas and a movie with our neighbors. We really hit the jackpot with our neighbors when we moved into our new house this year. When we first met them back in May, we were thrilled to find out they had a three-year-old son, Brayden. Braylen quickly made a new friend and now they get together at least weekly to play.

Here’s the best picture I could manage before leaving our house. Braylen was way too excited to pose for a picture or I would have snagged a good picture of her adorable Christmas pajamas.

Today, I’m linking up with Faith and Kelly to show you our annual Christmas card.

I love so many things about this holiday season. But Christmas cards? They top my list. Checking the mail in December is sheer joy as the snail mail creeps in and we receive Christmas wishes from our friends and family all over.

I do need to tell you that this was almost the Christmas card that wasn’t. I still had my old shipping address listed on the Erin Condren website and I didn’t change it when I ordered our holiday cards. Which would be completely fine, except they were delivered to a completely different address than our previous residence.

There may or may not have been a tear shed over my lost Christmas cards.

Which sounds completely crazy, but I just knew we wouldn’t be sending Christmas cards out this year. The oversight was quickly fixed by my sweet husband who went to the house they were mistakenly delivered to and basically saved Christmas.

I know, I know. I’m dramatic. It comes with the territory of being the one and only girl in my family growing up.

But the moral of the story remains, double-check that shipping address or marry a great guy who doesn’t mind hunting down Christmas cards on his way to work.

Here it is, our 2012 Christmas card:

I couldn’t be more happy with the way the cards turned out this year!  I dropped the ball on a moving announcement so I took this opportunity to send out our new address, as well. I really adore them and the Erin Condren team.

I also loved the festive cards and matching labels that were included with the cards.

To see our Christmas cards from years past you can check these posts out:

2010 / 2011