Christmas Festivities and a Sad Goodbye

As with every November and December I have lots of things I would like to do but not quite enough time to do them all....at least not as well as I would like to. I decided to give myself a bit of a break this year and not write our annual Christmas letter. But, for whatever reason I just can't let it go. Maybe it's because this is my favorite time of the year. Maybe it's because I really enjoy writing and crafting a Christmas letter is actually enjoyable for me. (The truth is I start thinking about the letter and what our Christmas card will look like around about July. Yes, I am a planner.)

So, here is a modified version of the should-have-been Christmas letter and a recap of how we celebrated this year.

To start with...our sad news. (I figured I couldn't end a "Christmas Letter" with a downer.) In November we had to say goodbye to our dog Lucy. Due to Bryce's allergies it was apparent that she had to go. We were so thankful to find a great home for her in Alabama with our friends Fred and Reneea. We took several weeks to prepare Morgan, explaining to her that Lucy made Bryce sick and that she would always be our dog but that she was going to live with a different family and make them happy. All in all Morgan handled it very well. There were some teary episodes the day of departure but little distractions seemed to do the trick. And, I'm proud to say that this Momma held it together for that little girl! We have noticed that Bryce is doing much better. His nose used to run constantly and that is no longer the case. He also smiles and laughs more than he ever had in the past and his skin is easier to manage now.

Once we got past that event and Thanksgiving it was time for Christmas! Morgan was a good helper this year making cookies.

And Bryce took his role of "Santa's Elf" very seriously!

With so many festivities to prepare for, we spent alot of time at home snuggling and hanging out in our pajamas.

To celebrate Christmas Eve we attended our church's service...in coordinating Christmas attire of course!

And of course we did our traditional Christmas jammies that they get to open on Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning brought the arrival of the "Santa" present...a giant play hut/tent (and the departure of the daily request for blanket and pillow tent creations :) )

Morgan got her much-sought-after "purple baby with the purple dress and pink bear that talks to me"

And Bryce got a ride-on dump truck that gets to carry his other toys (and the occasional baby doll)

Sandy and I decided one of our gifts together should be tickets to go see a Tarheels game. So shortly after Christmas we travelled up to UNC and saw them play Elon.

All in all we had a great Christmas and a great 2011. We hope you had the same!