Our traveling Christmas

What a wonderful Christmas!! This year, we decided to do something a bit different for Christmas…visit three states in two weeks. Sure it doesn’t sound too hard…unless the states are Texas, Oklahoma and Kentucky…and oh yeah, you are driving! Despite having to be on the road a fair bit, we had a simply beautiful Christmas.

Our first stop was Texas to stay with Tony’s Uncle Kevin and Aunt Jeannie. Also, we met up with his mom and brother Scott here, too. It was a bittersweet visit. Tony’s Uncle Kevin is battling Cancer and despite his struggle it was amazing to see him. He is a man Tony and I both look up to with the utmost respect and love…a man we are very lucky and proud to call our Uncle. Being able to visit and just be with him was a true blessing. We had a wonderful time talking and just enjoying each others company. Kailyn made a new friend in Topanga and had a blast spending time with her beloved Gemaw. Now this whole trip wouldn’t have been possible without you, so thank you Charlene…for everything and all you did. We stayed in Texas for a few days and were sad to have to say our goodbyes to all the family there.

Now it was off to our next stop, Oklahoma to visit Baba, Grandma, Jaq, and Jasmine! We arrived the day before Christmas Eve and were so happy to be there! We had such a nice Christmas filled with yummy food, great family and of course Guitar Hero! I will have to say one of Kailyn and my favorite things was the duck pond. On Christmas we brought a loaf of bread to the duck pond and had the best time feeding the ducks and running around acting crazy! It reminded me how much I love being a kid! Of course we were completely spoiled and loved every minute of it…especially Kailyn! Again, it was sad to leave family we love so much and made us realize we do really need to visit more often!

So, next we headed to Kentucky to visit Tony’s grandparents and aunt. As with each place we were welcomed with immense love. We spent the next day relaxing and just enjoying being with Tony’s grandparents. It was a wonderful end to our marathon of visiting.

As we were heading home, we realized again, just how very blessed we are to have such a wonderful family to love and be loved by. Each of you is such an important part of our lives and even though we don’t see you as much as we would like…know you are always in our prayers and we love you dearly. Thank you for a wonderful traveling Christmas!

Our shining star

Each year at Kailyn’s pre-school, they have a Christmas pageant, and each year the “graduating” class of that year gets to have all the lead roles. Since Kailyn fell into that category, she was chosen to be the head Angel and the star of Bethlehem. Now, as with most things, Kailyn took this responsibility very seriously. She practiced her lines intently and even asked the teacher if she could have more lines to recite! In no time at all, she had her lines memorized. Her teacher even asked if I wouldn’t mind reading the story this year…I felt honored and a little nervous at the same time…I don’t like getting up in front of crowds…not matter how small! So, the day came for the dress rehearsal and like the previous year, it went really well. The difference between last year and this year was that the day of the pageant, it went better than rehearsed! The children did great and Kailyn was perfect! She felt so very important standing up there saying her lines and hold her star! She was without a doubt our little shining star!