back to Christmas posts - Road Trip #3: Christmas in Ruston

Our Christmas gift came early this year...it came November 8...isn't Josiah a great gift?!!! We think so!!

And his Papa thinks so too - Papa got TWO presents...2 grandsons for Christmas!

Our family grew this year...we went from 7 to 9!!

me, Daniel, Jenny, Meredith, Brian, Mama (Gran Gran), Brannon, Daddy (Papa), and Josiah

on the road...AGAIN! We had a different Christmas this year in Ruston. Christmas morning as we knew it didn't come on the 25th...it came on the 26th, and I spent the morning of the 25th in the hospital, visiting my Granny. She will be 90 years old February 20, and she fell and shattered her lower femur the week before Christmas. As of today she is still in the hospital but the doctors are amazed at her progress. For a woman whose diet consisted of coke, toast with a heap of butter, and Tootsie Roll Pops, her body is actually incredibly healthy and is proving to be quite resilient despite being 90 years old, overweight, and unable to put any weight on that leg for 10 weeks! Really, the Lord has been so gracious to my Granny.

Back to Christmas.

Jenny, Brian, Meredith, and Brannon arrived on Christmas evening and we all went to Mamaw and Papaw's...we were 30-ish people at their house!

Throughout our childhood, our Papaw would always dress up in his Santa suit and greet children at the bank where he was a board member. We still ask him to get out his old suit for old times' sake!

Papaw and his girls.

Mamaw, "Santa," and their great grandchildren: Sydney, Meredith, Abby, Brannon, Trigger, and Josiah ("little Santa")

Like I said, our "Christmas morning" actually came on the 26th. Brian and Daniel think Jenny and I are ridiculous, but on Christmas morning we always had this rule that you can't look in the den at what Santa brought before the other one. So, we'd have to go together. Every Christmas morning, I'd ALWAYS wake upbefore Jenny, go in her bedroom, wake her up, and we' go brsh our hair (for the pictures, of course), and brush our teeth, and walk into the den together. And...we still do pretty much the same thing! Even at ages 32 and 29 there's still something magical about being a child at heart on Christmas morning, something magical about keeping traditions. And now something magical about spending Christmas with each other and with our children.

beautiful Meredith

matching cousins

Merdedith got a John Deere tractor....such a great country girl!!