Just like that, we were moving on to 2017. In case you missed it, I spent some time reflecting on our year, here.
But first, it was time to celebrate the holidays with our friends and family.
I don’t know many people who haven’t ever experienced some difficulty when it comes to planning holidays.
Before the kids came along, we would separate for the holidays- TT Dad would go spend time with his family, and I would stay home with mine. There were a few extenuating circumstances which encouraged the split- I was working at a job that did not allow any time off from December-February, and TT Dad happens to have a birthday that falls over the holidays, so he had always gone home to celebrate with his family.
Of course, when the kids arrived in October of 2014, we invited all of our family to celebrate in our home that year. In 2015, you may remember, we spent some time with TT Dad’s parents, and family.
Following that alternating year schedule meant that we would be home again in 2016. There are pros and cons of such a schedule, mainly that TT Dad’s older sister (Auntie C) and her family rotate every third year. They do a year with her family, a year with his family, and a year at home (states away from either family’s home.) This would mean we would only see them once every 6 years, or so.
Our compromise is to follow this alternating years schedule, with the stipulation that we reserve the right to change the plan at any time!
So here we were. Home for the Holidays! This year, our local cousins would be around, too, which led to a fun and energized few days.
My family’s tradition has always been to celebrate with friends and some family on Christmas Eve, wake up and celebrate with your immediate family on Christmas morning, and spend the afternoon with extended family.
While we missed our extended out-of-state family, and meeting our new baby niece, we had a wonderful time with our more local family.
As you can imagine, the kids were absolutely spoiled with goodies from friends and family. They loved getting a chance to spend some quality time with them.
It wouldn’t be Christmas without a set of matching holiday jammies!
We even snuck in a little birthday celebration for TT Dad!
But before we knew it, it was time to start packing for our next big trip. This one had been on the books for a while, and I’m not sure who was more excited- me or the kids… Okay, that’s not true. It was definitely me!
We were going to Disney World!
