Christmastime 2012 Highlights

Merry Christmastime!! (It applies until January, right?) I hope your Christmas has been wonderful! Mine has been very blessed, indeed.

 

 

Disclaimer: Ever since I got my iPhone for Christmas last year, I've been highly dependent on it for my photos and have, therefore, been negligent with my real camera and bad at taking a good amount of pictures. So, since Instagram has become my more consistent form of mini-blogging, I'll just share the images that I highlighted as they occurred throughout the season.

 

The week before Christmas, Matthew and Heather joined us at the historic Ryman Auditorium for Andrew Peterson's "Behold The Lamb of God" concert.

 

 

The tag line for the show is "The true tall tale of the coming of Christ." Within the concert, they tell the whole story of the Bible in song, from the creation to Jesus' coming and including His crucifixion and resurrection. It's awesome, and a great way to put the focus on Christ at Christmas.

 

And it was so cool to see so many amazing artists and musicians on one stage coming together to proclaim the Good News.

 

Moving on to other highlights, Brad and I won 1st place in our neighborhood's home decorating contest. Again. Holla! We already have big plans to up the ante next year.

 

This year, I bought some Scentsicles to make our artificial tree smell more like a real one. They're scented ornaments that are just fragrance-infused sticks which blend into tree, allowing you to "smell the real smelling smell of a real tree" without seeing the true source. I loved it.

 

We personalized our annual ornament to add to our growing collection. We also (secretly) backlogged one from 2006, which is the only year of our marriage that we failed to commemorate with an ornament. It has been bothering me for six years each time I trimmed our Christmas tree and strolled back down memory lane. I figured if we could get one unique to that year, it wouldn't really be cheating. So we snuck one in honoring our college graduation. Now we officially have an ornament for each year, and in the future, nobody is any the wiser. Trick, trick. Well, except all of you guys. But, shhhh.

 

Brad's family came down early to celebrate the holiday. I didn't take any photos (oops), but here's one that Matthew took of the aftermath. Jeremy got a toy train set, and their dad got a remote controlled helicopter. For not having any children in the family, we still represent the toys!

 

 

While his family was in town, we all went to the Belcourt Theater, which is this old, historic movie theater that plays mostly independent films, classics, or movies with cult followings. We saw one of my Christmas favorites, "Home Alone." It was so much fun to watch such a familiar movie with a large audience. Every time something hilariously unfortunate happened to those darned Wet Bandits and I heard the innocent laughter of children (and adults) all around me, my heart was filled with even more Christmas joy. And I may or may not have taken a picture of the title art as it appeared on the big screen. I hope I don't get arrested for copyright infringement!

 

 

Later in the week, Bradley and I spent an evening in our car driving around town and looking at Christmas lights while we drank some warm coffee. I do love memories like these.

 

We didn't see any of my family this holiday, but we did ship gifts back and forth. My parents let this beauty appear on our doorstep! With their encouragement, we opened it before Christmas morning, and we are so glad we did! We used it to make a couple batches of Brad's delicious eggnog.

 

We kicked off Christmas Eve by going back to the Belcourt Theater to watch "It's A Wonderful Life." They host multiple daily showings of this Christmas Classic every year during the week leading up to the holiday. It may become one of our annual traditions. Watching movies at home without an auditorium full of other film lovers just seems so boring now.

 

When we got home, we swapped our gifts of Christmas PJs, made some cookies from scratch (We seriously love that mixer!), and waited for Santa to come.

 

Christmas Eve just isn't Christmas Eve without a reading of "The Night Before Christmas."

 

Nor would it be complete without boarding the Polar Express!

 

Christmas morning we woke up as a family and exchanged stockings.

 

Chester was anxious to dig into his. I think he was irritated that he could smell bones and treats in the bottom, but he couldn't get to them easily. Even though the sock monkey was initially tossed aside to get to the tasty goodies, he has since played with it a lot. It's actually already missing an ear. Oops.

 

Then we had our traditional Christmas morning breakfast of cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate. Brad tried to make a batch from scratch, but he accidentally killed the yeast and the dough didn't rise. (Yeast is so finicky!) Luckily, we had a tube of Pillsbury on hand. That's still homemade in my book.

 

Later Christmas morning, we finally got to the (other) main event of the day: "Les Miserables"! We had both been so looking forward to this film release, and we were not disappointed. Seriously, go see it. It's amazing. Such great acting and singing and storytelling and visual cinematography!

 

That evening, we had Hill Ridge over for Christmas dinner. With Publix' help, Brad perfectly roasted a ham, and I baked a couple casseroles. Our friends brought over some other side dishes, and we topped off the meal with sparkling grape juice. Oh, and Brad mastered the yeast and made some awesome rolls from scratch. I was thrilled to not only get to spend a great Christmas dinner with our best friends, but also to set my table with my new Christmas dishes!

 

After that, there was nothing else to do but settle in and finish this year's Christmas puzzle.

 

I sure do love Christmastime. I can't wait to finally have children to share all of our traditions with. 

 

How was your Christmas holiday season??

Carving pumpkins, sibling style

While my brother was visiting last month, we took the opportunity to carve a few jack-o-lanterns. Can you believe that Trevor has never carved a pumpkin before?? Oh, that just will not do!

If you're with the Mehaffeys in the month of October,  you're going to adhere to our strict Halloween traditions. No fall is complete without carving a pumpkin! (Or the annual eat-the-pumpkin-goop-from-the-super-scooper-picture.)

For it being Tevo's first stab at carving (ha, see what I did there?), I have to say, I do believe he did a fabulous job! I especially enjoyed both of our attempts at reinacting our pumpkins' facial expressions. Trevor perfectly duplicated that one eye bigger than the other thing. He's a natural.

I love the way they look, glowing in the dark.

Carving pumpkins is one of my favorite fall activities. It was great to get to share this year's experience w/ my brother. I'm so glad I could be the first one to introduce him to the joys of gutting a fruit and drawing silly faces on it.

BTW, Brad oh-so-graciously "donated" his pumpkin to Trevor. Somehow, he didn't seem all that disappointed to be missing out on the awesome tradition. Hmm. His loss.

Big Plans in the Big Apple

Guess what Brad and I are doing this Thanksgiving. Give up?

We're going to New York City! Yahoo! Yea! Yippee!! Holllllaaaaaa!!! We're going to spend the whole week in The Big Apple, and the best part is, we are going to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade live! Ohmygoodness. I honestly couldn't possibly be any more excited ever, ever. Eeeee!!!!

And while the Parade will obviously be the highlight of our trip, there's another event edging in at a very close second: We're going to see Wicked on Broadway. Holy cow, I absolutely cannot wait!

We have big plans for the week that we're there. We've spent months pouring over every available activity in NYC, including landmarks, tours, museums, shopping areas, etc. and grouping them by location. Our poor visitor's map has already been well worn in.

We've decided that this will definitely be more of a "trip" than a "vacation," since there will be no relaxing for us in the Big Apple. We plan to wake up early each morning (especially Thanksgiving morning), eat a quick breakfast at the hotel, then head out for the entire day, only to come back late in the evening to crash for the night. Our itinerary is jam packed, and it's just how we like it. (Don't judge me for my color-coded excel spreadsheet. The level of my nerdiness is directly proportional to my level of excitment. Just consider yourself lucky that you don't have to view all the other tabs in that workbook. Ha.)

(Click to enlarge)

New York City has so many iconic locations. The Statue of Liberty. The World Trade Center memorial. Central Park. The Empire State Building. Times Square. So many! I mentioned to my mom that I want to have breakfast at Tiffany's in honor of the classic film, even if it's just a donut by the entrance, and she surprised me by sending me this Tiffany and Co. coffee mug to prepare. I already feel so ritzy just from that pretty packaging alone!

Oh my goodness! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! I know that we're going over Thanksgiving, but I have to admit, I'm mostly excited about Christmas in New  York.  Can you believe we'll actually visit the real Macy's on 34th street? We'll get to see the Plaza like in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. We'll get to shop at FAO Schwarz and walk past the men dressed as toy soldiers at the door on our way to stepping on the Big piano. We'll get to ice skate at Rockefeller Center, all bundled up in our winter scarves. And we'll witness, live, Santa Clause starting off the Christmas Season at the end of the Parade!  This trip is a Christmas fanatic's dream come true!

Seriously, I have to calm myself down when I start thinking about it. Brad and I haven't been on a week-long vacation since our honeymoon six years ago, and neither of us have ever been to New York City. I can't wait to make all those wonderful memories!

Any recommendations, if you've visited the Big Apple in the past? Or if you love a movie scene or TV location in the city that's a must-see?

image sources: here, here, and here

Jigsaw casualties

In accordance with my new Christmas Puzzle Tradition, I was anxious to whip out an old favorite of mine. It's a collection of Norman Rockwell's famous Christmas paintings.

I love doing this particular puzzle for many reasons: I love Norman Rockwell's style, and especially the nostalgia these paintings bring to Christmastime; it's like doing four puzzles in one; and this was my very first "Christmas Puzzle," which I've been putting together annually for years.

However, throughout it's lifespan, my favorite puzzle has sustained a couple minor injuries. For instance, it's completely missing a piece. Lost. Gone. Kaput. Nowhere to be found. And it's even an important edge piece, at that! Sad day.

Another piece is all but destroyed thanks to Chester's youthful puppy days when he would gnaw on anything dropped on the floor. The chewed up piece is nearly unrecognizable, rendering it only placeable based on its shape alone without being able to consider the picture it holds. Furthermore, it barely even stays in place after his puppy spit made it all soggy, swelled up and deformed. Sad day, indeed! But I suppose it still gets the job done.

This year, my friend, Pam, helped me assemble it, which means she gets to sign the back of it once I get it all glued together. Oh yeah, and Brad did manage to put in one single piece just so he could autograph it, too. I guess I have to stay true to my word.

Did you start any new traditions this Christmas?

Awkward Mehaffey Family Photos, 2010 Edition

Every Thanksgiving, the family takes advantage of the fact that we're all together to take the family photo to be included in the annual Mehaffey Christmas card/letter.

It's a pretty difficult task to take a good picture of the entire family without it looking too awkward. Exhibit A:

The guys are way too tall when they're standing and the girls are sitting. (Besides, what girl wants to be squished, hunched over and sitting down in a picture?)

 

Okay, then let's switch. Nope, now the girls are really far away midgets. And the guys look like dorks. (No offense, guys.)

Well, that obviously didn't work. Everybody on their feet! Let's try the stairway and banister for some variety. (Besides, I love having a garland-ed banister! What a great opportunity to show it off...)

Yeah, okay. That one's better, but it's still worthy of the Awkward Family Photos website.

Speaking of Awkward Family Photos, we couldn't help but immediately compare our Christmas poses to some that are even worse!

After multiple failed attempts, we did eventually achieve a family shot that we all agreed was sufficient enough for this year's edition of the Christmas Chronicle. At least it's less awkward than some.

The process may be somewhat awkward every Thanksgiving, but it generally provides lots of laughs (which is good because it means genuine smiles for the picture) and more good memories. Besides, it's a real treasure to have a snapshot of our family exactly as it is at the time. Every year we enjoy reading past Christmas letters and laughing at the family photos that accompany each of them. It's always interesting to see who and where we have been. I'm actually really grateful for the tradition.

Do you send out Christmas cards or take annual family pictures? Do they end up being equal amounts awkward and awesome?

O Christmas Tree

There are fewer things I love more than Christmastime; not only the day itself, but the entire season. (Which is why I began my Christmas season as early as possible, even before Thanksgiving, this year.) Nothing visually demonstrates the season better than the decorative centerpiece of the holiday:

The Christmas Tree

I love decorating our tree every year. Not only does it mean the start of Christmas, when I can finally stop reigning in my excitement and start watching the movies, listening to the music, seeing the sights and smelling the scents, but it also allows me to take a stroll down Memory Lane, starting in 2005 during Brad's and my first Christmas together.

Every year since then, we have purchased and personalized an ornament. (Except for 2006 - would it be a lie to get one and just backlog it for the missing year? Maybe with something cute with caps and gowns since that's when Brad and I graduated from college?) This year, we got to personalize two since we got an additional one to commemorate the purchase of our first home!

I love the opportunity to reminisce as we remove each ornament from storage and carefully place it on the branches. We have one from our honeymoon in Niagara Falls, others that we colored ourselves, and even a sweet baby one honoring Brad's very first Christmas back in 1983! (Thanks, Elaine, for passing down your firstborn's ornaments as he transitioned into his own home.) We also have a plethora of tree decorations that have no sentimental value other than making me smile every time I see them sparkle.

Looking at a Christmas tree shine makes my whole body relax. For some reason, sitting in the glow and enjoying the twinkling lights feels like home to me. It's calm and it's peaceful. It's comforting to know that families all over the world are doing the same thing. It provides a sense of stability and joy even when the world may not be going the way you'd prefer.

I definitely love Christmas Day, and especially the birth of my Savior which it represents, but for me it's the entire Christmas season building up the anticipation for that celebration that is my favorite. A whole month (or more) of peace and joy and hope and love and kindness and sharing and selflessness and warmth and family and togetherness and fun and sparkles and shine and cookies and smiles and stories and friends and movies and music and smells and gingerbread houses and decorations and completeness. And it all begins with the Christmas Tree. Let the Christmastime begin. 

Have you put up your Christmas tree, yet?