Skip to main content

List Love - All I Got For Christmas

1. Facetime for my Sister's Engagement - The fact that I was able to be present for a moment that changed my sister, Faith's life was incredible.  I felt so connected to it I started crying and couldn't believe it really felt like I was able to be there.  Her boyfriend, now Fiance, Josh got down on one knee and said the sweetest things to his girl, and for just a moment all was still in a house generally full of movement.  He really loves my little sister, and to see her say yes to the man who holds her heart was all I really needed for Christmas.


2. Facetime With My Family Christmas Morning - Bill and I woke up at 5:30 am on Christmas morning to open gifts together then at 6:15 am we talked to my twin brother, his wife and their sweet daughter in Pittsburgh and at 6:30 am we facetimed with my parents, younger brother, two younger sisters, and my sister's fiance and his entire family.  My heart was full by 6:40 am Christmas morning, without even considering the gifts everyone sent.  I love those people on the screen so much and facetime really allowed me to feel connected to them despite the miles.  I am so thankful for technology.

Disclaimer: This photo is not from Christmas day, but it's such an accurate picture of our regular facetime sessions :)
3. TWO sets of incredible parents - I am SO blessed to have not only the world's best parents, but also the world's best mother and father in law.  All four of these people are incredible examples of marriage and love Bill AND I without abandon.  We spent the holidays with Bill's family this year and it was a pleasure to be around his parents as much as possible :)  

We spent Christmas eve just the four of us, eating Chinese and Sushi (a Wecker family tradition) and watching It's a Wonderful Life.  What a blessing it is to have such a safe home away from home right around the corner from our house.

Bill's dad captured the top left moment, and I couldn't help but include it in this collage!

4. Holiday Favorite Foods - I can't post on a Friday and not talk about food!  I look forward to the holidays every year because of the incredible food that gets cooked up, and this year was no exception.  Whether it is my mom's home made eggnog and corn chowder or Bill's mom's baked goods, that she starts immediately following Thanksgiving; I am going to gain a few pounds :) This year, I was surprised to contribute a meal  to the mix!

Bill and I prepared his parents and aunt and uncle a Christmas dinner thanking them for always hosting us all year long.  We made a slow roasted pork shoulder, scalloped potatoes, raw and baked oyster appetizers, and honey mustard and pecan green beans.  We also made a few cocktails and had some really yummy Corley Family Vineyards Cabernet with dinner.  We had the most lovely evening that night, and I wish I had pictures to share!  I was having too good of a time to remember to take any!


As always, my loving husband was one of my favorite parts of the holidays.  He loves it all and really wants to the spirit of the season to be remembered, and I felt like this year we were really able to remember what is important.  I am so happy to spend every day with him, and Christmas is no exception to that.  Check back on Monday for a post about a gift I made him that will forever remind me of our wedding day :)

Love you guys!  
Be sure to tell me about your holiday moments that stand out!



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In the Nursery: Whole Hearted Parenting Manifesto

I recently finished a book by Brene Brown titled, DaringGreatly .  It really moved me, and I am definitely still processing it. At the beginning of the book I wasn’t resonating deeply with the topic of vulnerability, as most people will tell you I am an “open book”.  I will answer most questions without holding back and love to deep dive into good conversation.  However, what I came to realize through her many examples is that we all wrestle with vulnerability, guilt and shame throughout this book even if is more momentary than constant.  I gleaned SO MUCH from this book that I did not anticipate, and I thought I would share this Parenting Manifesto that she put right at the end of the book.  I am printing it and framing it for our nursery, as I think it communicates some deep parts of my heart cry for parenting my kiddos well. I hope this resonates with someone else as much as it did with me.   I needed these words to remind me that parenting is not a checklist,
2 comments
Read more

A Penny For Your Thoughts - Looking Back & Missing Italy

 I took this my first day in Italy, and will always remember my town just like this... I realized something about my writing the other day, and that is that I am much more present in my writing than I am in my brain.   I am constantly thinking back, but I never write about my past.   Sure, I write a story here or there reminiscing on my African travel, but rarely do you hear about my life pre-California unless it is in reference to my family.   Lately, I have found myself pining for Italy.   Did you know I lived there?   Probably not, because I rarely mention it! I knew I was going to love it there, but it has stuck with me since the moment I left.   I have wanted to go back every   minute of every day since then.   The simplicity of life, the emphasis on slowing down, the architecture, the food, the flowers, the people, the color, the trains, the bikes, the gelato, the smiles and laughter, the wine, and the cities are only scratching the surface of things I love from the bea
Post a Comment
Read more

At the Library - May through September 2019 Reading

We had another baby in May (SO much more on that later) and blogging has obviously taken a back seat, but I am still reading for pleasure and have managed, in my sons first four months of life, to complete these 8 books!  Y'all, I remember a time when even completing 2 books a year would have sincerely sounded daunting, much less with a newborn.  If you want to read more, you can find the time!  Take stock of your days and see where you are wasting hours.  For some of these, I listened to the audio book while I was pumping or watering the garden.   Rather than give you an individual breakdown of each of these books, I just want to report I found them all incredibly enjoyable.  A total cross section of a food memoir to a psychology deep dive to nature centric novels, I would recommend them all in different capacities.   We have fallen a bit behind on our Bible reading, but we WILL finish by the end of the year. You do not make it to September
2 comments
Read more