Merry Christmas!

I can't believe that it's Christmas Eve already!! I'm really looking forward to Christmas this year, but there are some people in my life that will be greatly missed! It just will not be the same without them. So yes it may be rambling, but that's what this blog is for! Here's a list of some of the changes this year.

1. My mom... She was still living here in Michigan last year, and it was the first Christmas that I was able to spend with her in years. It was such a happy time, and I'm really sad that I won't see her this year.

2. Kath... my wonderful friend from Australia. It was so wonderful having her here with us for Christmas last year! She fit right in and became one of the family. She will be greatly missed this year! It was so special having her here, and getting to see Christmas through her eyes. It was so easy to include her with our family. She's definitely a part of my family now, and always will be.

3. Tina... my best friend in Tennessee. I miss her so much, and would really love to spend the holidays with her. It's so hard not being able to see someone that is so important in your life. I hope to see her in a few months. Maybe one day we can live closer to each other, like we did years ago. Oh how fun that would be, but oh the trouble we would get into! :)

4. My grandparents. This will be the first year that they are both gone, and this is also the first Christmas without Dan's grandma. They were all such special people in my life, and they are going to be so greatly missed. It will be a hard Christmas without them, but I know they will be there in spirit.

I know there are many other reasons, but I'm stopping there. I think I need to include some things I am looking forward to this Christmas, just to cheer this thing up. :)

1. Getting to see my nephew's first Christmas. He loves grabbing at papers and tearing them up, so I know he's going to love ripping open his gifts. He may not care too much about his gifts, or pay much attention to them, but I'm sure he will love tearing of the paper.

2. Wrapping paper fights, and Christmas bows. My family puts bows on our presents, and before we open the present, we have to take the bow off and put it somewhere on ourselves. Some of us choose some pretty funny places, and we always get some great pictures. We also have a wrapping paper fight. When we're opening gifts, we ball up our wrapping paper, and just toss it around the room. Then once all the gifts are open, we just go crazy. It's a lot of fun! :)

3. Getting to see my family. Of course there are those that I'd rather not have to spend too much time with. I think every family has one or two of those, but it's still great spending time with family. Many of them I'll only get to see once or twice a year. I definitely enjoy that time.

So I am excited about Christmas. It will be hard in many ways, but I'm going to try and focus on the people I do get to see, and the joy on people's faces.

Merry Christmas Everyone!! :)