After the zoo, getting married, and then graduation...Christmas came! I got a job in the meantime too and that has been such an amazing blessing. But...Christmas is more exciting haha. Jesse and I enjoyed decorating for Christmas in our first apartment. We didn't have a ton of money, but we still found enough to get our first pair of stockings and some ornaments. The decorations were mild for what will come later, but we both loved them as they were. Luckily I already had a nice Christmas tree and a cute little nativity set that the Seamons family had gotten for me a couple of years ago.
We had just gotten back earlier that day from spending a wonderful Thanksgiving with Jenny and Jon in Rupert, and we were tired, but I insisted we do it that day and Jesse, in his loving and enthusiastic way, joined in.
It was fun to start a new tradition of putting the tree up the day after Thanksgiving.
Jesse had lots of fun making me pose for pictures that I would not otherwise consent to, but he did all the work for pictures and in the end I accepted the inevitable. Secretly...so keep this hush hush everyone...pictures are growing on me. I still think I look horrible in them, but I like having them to remember moments. Like the zoo, I had completely forgotten about that day until I saw those photos on Jesse's camera card. I think that's really where my deeper appreciation for pictures began to grow.
Anyways, as you can see, Jesse is a goof and...I love him and go along with it. I LOVE our tree. I'll be sad when this one goes, if it goes, because it has been a faithful Christmas tree and has memories attached to it. But maybe someday we can get a big 8 or 9 foot tree that Jesse will have to stretch to put the topper onto or put a kid onto his shoulders....all in good time though :)
Christmas Part 2
While decorating was fun...Christmas day was just as good if not better. I'd never really had a Christmas quite like it actually. Everything was simple, peaceful, and the atmosphere had no hint of emotional eruption of any kind. It was the kind of Christmas that I want to always be able to share with my family.
Since it fell on a Sunday this year, we had a special stake wide meeting which was supposed to be about an hour, but lasted almost 2. It was a good meeting though and I loved being able to sit with Jesse during church for even just that one Sunday. After church, we went over to visit Janet Huff, a wonderful friend of mine and Jesse's since we were little. Really, she was an amazing friend to my mom during her time living in Corvallis and Jesse was friends with her son, David, but as Jesse and I have grown up, we've developed our own friendship with her. We planned on just dropping by for a little bit to visit some, but to be home soon because we hadn't opened gifts before going to church, but we ended up being there for about 4 hours just talking. She's such a kind, generous and loving woman...and it was great to just sit and visit with her when we had no pressing concerns on our time.
Once we got home after visiting with Janet, we actually made dinner first since it was so late. Note: we *still* hadn't opened presents and it was almost 6 pm by that time. But, we chose to make and eat dinner before getting down to gift opening. I think, in the end, we didn't open gifts til about 8 pm. That, won't make it into the family traditions haha, but we had fun opening them, even late in the evening. In fact, I think the delay in opening gifts kept our priorities and activities of the day closer to what the center of Christmas really is.
Jesse and I couldn't remember ever being more spoiled on a Christmas. We had set a budget...but we both went over that budget a little bit. Ironically, we both went over the budget by roughly the same amount. I thought it was funny. Jesse spoiled me with picture frames that I'd been wanting desperately (I wanted to put up wedding pictures) and he got many things that he liked too. He wouldn't give me any hints as to what he wanted so it was hard shopping for him, but I chose a couple of winners in the end. I think his favorite was the puzzle I got him, that is now preserved and displayed in our living room.
This Christmas was definitely one for the memory books. The feeling throughout the entire day was amazingly peaceful and it was just wonderful to have such a relaxing Christmas day, relaxing with a good friend and my sweet husband. It couldn't have been any better.
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