This year was the year to be with Andrew's side of the family. We went up to Idaho and stayed at his parents house. We had Sooo much fun getting together with all of his siblings and their families. The only ones that were missing were Deborah, Greg, and their two boys, Max and Cole. :0( I Love Thanksgiving dinner!!! Since I'm on a diabetic restrain with this pregnancy I was a little bummed, trying to figure out what I could and could not eat. Well, my dietitian said I can really eat anything as long as I proportion it right... eating lots of greens and protein and then small amounts of other goodness. :0) Well, when I tested my blood sugar after that meal, it wasn't bad at all. I was Sooo excited. I had pretty much what I wanted to eat. It was Great!! And Andrew's mom is an Awesome cook so I pretty much couldn't resist anything. :0)
One of Andrew's family traditions is watching Football this weekend. They are Huge fans!! It's Sooo much fun to watch them get into the games. Even some of the nieces and nephews get Way into it. Now that I understand it a little more I even get into it. It's fun to have everyone cheering and commenting. I Love it!!
While we were there I went with some of Andrew's sisters to a Consignment store for baby stuff. It was Awesome!! We got some Great stuff for dirt cheap. We finally got a swing that was practically new. It still had some things wrapped up.
We were sad when it came time to leave, but we definitely had a Ton of fun!! I wish I would have taken pictures... I don't have very many, I'll try to find some and post them. :0)
Christmas with the Pitt's
This year was my year with my family. We drove down to California... long drive when you're 8 months pregnant. It was worth it once we got there. No snow to worry about slipping and falling, and it was pretty nice the whole time we were there.
Andrew actually hasn't experienced Christmas with my family yet. It was fun to watch him as everything went on with our traditions. It was also nice because we were able to see some of Andrew's family while we were down there. Andrew's sister Deborah and her family live about 15-20 min away from my home. We ate with them and watched a football game. Max their oldest little boy was funny. He kept forgetting Andrew's name and calling him Greg's brother's name. We had a Lot of fun and it's always fun to see them when we are in town. :0)
It starts with getting together with my mom's side of the family on Christmas Eve. We have dinner at our place for everyone. We accidentally made 20 pounds of mashed potatoes. Whoops!! We had a Lot of left overs... which is always nice :0) And a Big tradition is making cooked Red Cabbage. It's a Danish thing that we've always done. It's not Christmas without it. With my mom's side of the family there's about 30 or so people that come over. We eat and then watch all the little kids open their presents. It's pretty much chaos. Kids are throwing the paper everywhere and jumping up and down excited about what they got, showing their parents. It's Sooo much fun to watch. Andrew had some good laughs! After all that, the adults gather around in a circle. We all have a uni gift, and while reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas", we pass around the gifts. BUT, There is strategy to the game. It's a little confusing but hilarious to play and watch. Every time we hear the word "AND" we pass the gift in our hand one person to the right. Every time we hear the word "THE" we pass the gift 2 people to the left. (or visa versa) Somehow, we get traffic jams or we'll have one or more people trying to hang on to a gift they think they know what it is. We always end up catching them, but it makes the game fun and entertaining non the less.
Once the night is coming to an end and everyone leaves to go home to wait for Santa to come to their house, my dad's parents and some of his siblings come over. My grandpa reads the story from Luke about the Savior's birth. We then open pajamas and put them on and show them off for everyone to see. I always Love hearing the story of the Savior's birth. It's really what Christmas is all about. It's a nice reminder as well as to why we even celebrate the holiday.
Christmas Day....
The first one up usually rounds up whoever else is sleeping :0) Then we wait for everyone to meet together and one by one we head out by the tree and open presents.
Then we get ready for about 50 or so people to come over on my dad's side of the family. Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and even friends. Another Huge dinner that is always fun to have for leftovers. Although, it's a Ton of work, we Love helping our mom get ready for Christmas day. We eat, talk and catch up with one another. Then we do a gift exchange. Everyone is assigned a cousin to give a gift to. So we do gift exchanges and then we gave our grandparents their gift. A gift to all of us this year was that my grandpa was able to be here. He had a heart attack not long ago and has been in the hospital and running all kinds of tests and now he is able to be back home. Just in time for Christmas!! :0)
It's always fun to see cousins and their families and know how everyone is doing. As the night goes on there is usually a few games going on. Our family Loves playing games! :0) Then slowly everyone heads home.
Thanksgiving and Christmas are my 2 favorite holidays. I just Love that time of year, with lights, and music, food, and being Grateful for what we have in life. We are truly blessed. Also, remembering the Savior's birth and everything that follows his example to us as he grows up and teaches us to try to be the best we can. And because we get to see our families and relive traditions. We already can't wait for next year. :0)
The Sunday after Christmas, my sister Katie, had their second baby boy, Jack blessed. This is our Big, Happy, and still growing family. :0)
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