Here's a look back over the whole month, along with some other favorite things that have gone on the past few weeks.
I can't let this post go by without mentioning #allthememories from years gone by. I loved this age the boys were when this was taken! Everything was extra magical because they still believed in the man on whose lap they sat, I could tell them what to wear and how to behave and they'd listen, and we couldn't ever stay out late because they could never hang and we went to bed early every night. I do also love these older years, though. For instance, this year on Christmas morning, nobody was up before eight. Todd wakes up automatically at seven something every day and I wake up automatically between five and six each morning, and we ended up waking everyone up. Except Noah. He was already up.
The night I posted this picture was the night we got all the Christmas decorations out the attic at my in-love's house. Another favorite thing of mine for this month and season is all the time with family. This year it all seemed extra sweet and special.
This was our second time to make the trip to Jackson, Tn together to go to Englewood Baptist church to see their Christmas program. Our second favorite worship leader leads music there, and it was so good! I love when things like that are worshipful, instead of performance driven. I have been in a church that was very performance driven, and it never seemed to honor God as much to me. Give me a night of worship anytime, and I'll be happy.
We spent the day shopping and laughing and talking about anything and everything. It was so much fun and it's always one of my favorite things, being with my best friend. Also, on Christmas night, we may or may not have talked on the phone for a solid hour and a half. That's why we're friends~we never run out of things to say.
That leads perfectly up to this next picture, with my girl Christa, and I'll let it represent time with friends. Three times this month I got to hang out with each of my best friends, and I loved the time we had together. A girlfriend can never be replaced by any other relationship. There is something so special to me about this kind of bond, and when Jesus is at the center of your friendship, well, it's a lifelong, unbreakable bond.
(Not pictured is Andrea, whom I got to see TWICE this month, thanks to a random sighting at her neighborhood Kroger this week! A definite kiss from the King, as our friend Kari would have said, and how sweet of the Lord to let us see each other on the day she passed away one year ago.) In January, when we meet again, we will take a picture this time, Andrea!
Our Christmas night of praise and worship was one of our biggest and my favorite to date. My mom and stepdad were there, as well, but I didn't get a picture. My in-love's couldn't come because of some knee pain my mom-in-love was having, but I am glad that Sandy had Dad and me take this picture. Time with him is always a favorite, but I loved that my parents always come to support me in whatever I'm doing. It means so much more to me than I could adequately express.
Christmas decorations are my favorite! I didn't think I'd want to take them down before New Years day, but sure enough, I'm growing tired of it all and may take it all down on Monday. It will all have been up for one month, at that point.
Coffee mugs were a theme for me this Christmas! I got a set of six new ones I asked for from my in-love's, and my sister Debi got me one of those really cute initial mugs from Anthropologie that I love. They know me so well.
This mug also represents spending quality time with people I love. This was one purchase I bought for myself the day my mom-in-love and I went Christmas shopping. We had a full day! We started early and were out until around three that afternoon. She also did this same thing with each of my sons, with Jonah and Noah sharing their time out with Mimi. I think quality time is each of our love languages. Speaking of that, it's also mine and Todd's, and several times this month, we would just run to a store together really quick while we were alone, and it was so nice. We did this on Monday night, we just ran into the Kroger really fast to grab a few things.
My mom and I had a lot of quality time together this month, as well, as we shopped together, or went and got our nails done together, or just ran to Costco together. I would love to actually schedule more of that kind of thing in 2020...and just made some plans to do this on a day coming up in January.
(One of the mugs in the set I got for Christmas. They make me really happy...it doesn't take much.)
This wasn't in December, but it was one of my favorite times of 2019, when we went to Mississippi for a weekend to see our sweet friend Marissa tie the knot. Her photographer offered to take this picture with my phone, and even she was surprised at how great it turned out on a cell phone, no less, in just one quick shot. These people make me laugh, love, cry, and just about everything in between.
This was just this week, but it can also represent another favorite thing of 2019, and that was reading the New Testament along with my church family. I loved reading the same plan with all of them, and then hearing my pastor preach from the week's reading every Sunday. It was like a huge accountability group. Today we finished the plan and I'm a little sad. If they don't come up with a reading plan for all of us to do together in 2020, I'm going to read through the Bible chronologically again.
Sisters and family can be represented by this picture of Trish and me from Christmas day. I got to see ALL OF MY SISTERS this month! Lisa was here again for my nephew's birthday, Debi is here now, and Terri is here now. Trish lives here, so I'm fortunate to get to see her pretty often. Aren't we festive?! That necklace is a favorite gift from this month that Missy bought me on her trip to Gatlinburg. I have worn it a lot!
For about a week, I took an accidental break from social media, and wasn't on there very often. And then from Monday~Wednesday, I wasn't on my phone much at all, not even to take pictures, which is very uncharacteristic of me. But I liked it, and I hope to do that some more. It was nice to just live in the moments, not even to document them. I depend on my journal and this blog for more of the memories, anyway. I have so much more to say about this, but I'm about to wrap this post up and go have some quiet time with Jesus before I start the rest of my day. It's an easy one today, and I'm not leaving home until this afternoon, when we all go out to celebrate my hubby's birthday.
He's finally forty-three, just like me. We do this night every year with his parents, and it's one of my favorite nights every single time. We always have an abundance of laughter and antics, and I know tonight will be no different.
Well, I'm off to get started on this day. Thanks for always reading my blog! Love to all.
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