Again, I don't honestly know how I did as much as I did in December despite my heel/leg/back not being where I need them to be right now.
Above, this is the new sweater Briana received for Christmas that she wanted. It is a "Big Hero Six" sweater. It is so cute!
So, the first "Christmas-y" thing Bri and I did in December was go to our besties Amy and Mary's house (and bestie Valerie joined us as well) for a ladies potluck and gift exchange. It was so nice getting together, eating good food and having a lot of laughs!
Doug started a new job at a new company right before I got my surgery in September. Since I needed assistance 24/7 for a couple of months, Doug couldn't travel for work. He made up for that in December. Heh.
First, he went to Orlando...
Then he flew to Madrid, Spain for the company Christmas party (so sad I couldn't go to)...
And then he went for an overnight trip to Washington, DC...
While Doug was gone, Briana decided to paint another mug for Doug for Christmas (her yearly tradition for him). I thought last year would be her final mug painting year, but she wanted to do it again! She went on her own this year to paint it and also had to wait a week to go pick it up. She put in her airpods and quietly sat there painting it for a couple of hours. She saw a group/party come in with some kids to paint. Before she went to pay for the mug, two ladies from that party walked up to her and said they would pay for her mug along with their pieces. Just to be nice! Bri thanked them and texted me about it. Isn't that something?
Doug was thrilled on Christmas day...
One day, Briana met her friend AnDy at the mall for some shopping and they had lunch at a nearby restaurant. While at the mall, Briana spotted Santa Claus. She texted me when she got to the mall about it and I teased her about going to see him. At first, she was like "no way." Then when her friend arrived, they decided to go talk to him and take a picture. I never thought I would get a Briana/Santa picture ever again!
Bri and I wondered why Santa was wearing a green vest that day. Then I saw on FB the reason why...
What a fun surprise!
A few days later, Doug, Bri and I had my parents over for lunch and to watch a Christmas movie in our home theater. They had never seen "Christmas Vacation!" That had to be rectified! They laughed and laughed at the movie - it was a very successful and fun afternoon!
While Bri has been back home from school, she had an eye checkup and got herself some new glasses...
Doug, Bri and I met up for a Christmas dinner get together with one of our favorite families - the C family. We had a wonderful time...
Doug, Bri and I took a couple photos before meeting up with them...
Christmas cookie baking with the cousins didn't happen this year due to busy schedules, so Bri and I baked some cookies on our own...
We watched a few of our Christmas favorite shows throughout December...
While Briana has been home, she has done some cooking. She made us Monte Cristo sandwiches for dinner one night (so good)...
And she baked some mini cheesecakes...
One day, Bri met up with her friend Meredith for lunch at Panera and she ran into my friend Amy (so funny)...
This is pretty much what Mei has done most of December (she is thrilled to have Briana home - she will miss her so much come January)...
Speaking of cats, Doug and Bri finally put together the Lego cat that Briana had gotten for birthday...
Christmas was a bit rough for me when I woke up. But, I was determined to open gifts with Doug and Bri. We all were a bit spoiled in the gift department, including Mei...
Briana made me a couple of crochet items (which I love)...
She made an elephant for Doug's mom and a long-horned sheep for my BIL (Doug's brother) and SIL (that we shipped to Colorado)...
Doug, Bri and I usually join my parents, sister, BIL and nephews on Christmas Day for a present exchange. Well, my BIL was sick and so my sister and family weren't going to be able to come this year. And then I got sick, so I had to bow out too. We all decided to shift our family Christmas to the weekend instead (Sunday).
You can see how sick I was according to my Oura ring the day after Christmas...
So, finally our family connected on Sunday at my parents' house...
Briana's gifties...
Me and Doug...
And Hanukkah and Christmas overlapped this year, so we lit night 5 of the Hanukkah candles. The candle that my nephew Nate lit got so huge for some reason and we all started to laugh...
Whew - that was our Christmas season. We did a lot, but there were a few people that I usually get to see around the holiday that I didn't get to see this year due to busy schedules and my inability to drive very far. But, that is ok. There is always next year.
Next, I will write a post reflecting on this very crazy year. So many ups and downs. Overall, I am ready to put 2024 behind me. I am very uneasy about 2025 because 2024 was pretty tough.
Thanks for reading this post - I know it was a long one!
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