Christmas Eve was full of tears for me compared to Christmas Day. I spent most of Friday morning just bawling my eyes out. I guess it's good that I got it out before then, because I might have cried through every part of Christmas if not. It didn't help that my parents weren't exactly getting along. That distracted me, too.
Christmas morning, we woke up before Jaycee and then went to wake her around 6:30. The sight of snow just thrilled me- there were at least 2 inches already, and you couldn't see the road at all. It was absolutely breath-taking. When I said "Jaycee, it's snowing!" she didn't even move. When I said "Jaycee, Santa came to see you!!!"... she jumped straight up and said "YAY!". =)
This was the part I had been looking forward to for over a month- Jaycee's face when she saw all of her presents. She noticed the kitchen first, and then she was just in awe- there was so much more! She picked things up, dumped her stocking, and made a big to-do over her gifts. She said "Oh, I wanted this!" and "I love it!" and "Santa brought me this!". We then handed out presents and opened our gifts.
From us, Jaycee got some clothes, a V-tech laptop, some books for her TAG reader, some regular books, a littlest Pet Shop play set, a princess CD player... man, we just went a bit overboard!
I got Chris his hot chocolate machine that he really wanted, and that was a lot of fun to do! I also got Chris some new Tim McGraw Southern Blend cologne, and a new trimmer/shave set.
Chris was so good to me and got me pretty much EVERYTHING on my list- butterfly earrings, a nice day planner, a new sticker for my car in memory of Kylie, and Eclipse... I felt really special!
After all that... Jaycee had to find a special present in the tree from Santa- a ballerina necklace!
As we finished unwrapping, Santa was outside our driveway! Chris held Jaycee up to see him, and we talked to him. Jaycee said THANK YOU, SANTA! MERRY CHRISTMAS! =) It was a beautiful addition to the day, and a memory that will not be soon forgotten. To be honest, it was quite magical, and it had me excited and giddy!
We then headed to my mom's. A trip that should take 7-8 minutes took over 20!!! But the scenery was absolutely perfect- it was just like it had come straight from a postcard. The snow sitting on the branches of trees... I was truly lost in a Winter Wonderland.
My parents never cease to amaze me. I wasn't expecting much this year, but they went above and beyond to give us the best gifts ever. I was okay until I opened the gift from my mom that was a Hallmark Willow Tree gift set... the wording was just such that I knew it was for Kylie. Then, my sister gave me my pink Kylie tree... 4 ft pre-lit with white lights... I am so thankful for all my gifts. No one forgot to include Kylie again.. and that meant so much. Jaycee got a tricycle and a Leapster 2, along with all kinds of cute clothes, pajamas, and other toys. She was so gracious for all of it... and that meant so much.
Mom bought all the guys Nerf dart guns... man oh man, that was something else! She also got my dad an Auburn #2 jersey- and he was SHOCKED with that one =).
At that point, Jaycee and Chris left to go to his mother's house, as I do not go to any of his family's events. This is due to the fact that last year, we had a very big falling out. It just makes it easier for me to get through the holidays without having to deal with them. There are lots of bad memories and feelings there.
This year, we did a lot of things different. Because of the snow and other things, we ate dinner at almost 2, compared to 12. We also did Dirty Santa for the adults instead of eveyrone buying for everyone else. It really made it worth while, and started some new, fun traditions. My Uncle Frank bought Jaycee the Dancing/singing Dora- and you would have thought she won the lottery! Between Dora and the Baby Alive that my grandparents bought her, she didn't know what to play with first. Jaycee also got all of the stuff to give her a complete theme for her bedroom: Tinkerbell!!!!!
It was also a blessing to have my grandparents there. Granny's dementia and Parkinson's has gotten so much worse, and sometimes, I wonder if she really recognizes us or knows who we are. It is heart breaking to see her struggle to talk, to remember, to finish a sentence, to walk, to move. It is so hard to watch her struggle to eat, struggle to drink.. and it is equally as difficult to see my granddaddy's reaction to her condition...
But Granny didn't forget one important part of Christmas tradition, which is one of her FAVORITE things: our paper ball fight! =) She threw paper at us kids... and she struggled so hard to throw it, but she knew what she was doing. At one point, Jon and Uncle Mark dumped the whole bag of paper on Daddy's head...
Then, we played in the snow. The wind wasn't terrible, so it was very bearable outside. The guys had a serious snowball fight, and then Jaycee teamed up with Ashley, Jon, and her daddy to build Herman the snowman...
By the time we got home, we were full, exhausted, and overwhelmed.
There was not a moment in the day that Kylie wasn't in the back of my mind. We didn't get to go visit her because of the snow, but we saw her Christmas Eve, and then we saw her in the snow yesterday. My little princess sent us a beautiful gift that lasted the weekend, and it was such a sweet blessing to receive.
So, we made it. It was tolerable, but I still ache for my little girl. It is important that no one forgets her, and my family showed me that she was just as much on their minds and hearts as she was on mine.
I hope everyone else had a good Christmas...
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