Capturing Christmas

It was touch and go this year, whether or not we would be able to exchange gifts, until the very last second. Paychecks had been much smaller for the past few due to an unexpected tool purchase that was being paid for in 4 payments, and we didn't expect that the check just before Christmas would be any different, but it was! I called Kevin to tell him the good news on pay day, since we have direct deposit and he hadn't seen his check stub yet he had no idea why the check was so big. At first he thought that perhaps he had gotten some type of bonus, but later he called to report that it was due to about 10 hours of overtime! Yipee! So I called my mom and she took me shopping on Christmas Eve eve. It was so much fun being able to get some gifts for my wonderful hubby. He is such a great guy and we rarely ever get to buy each other anything, so it's really fun when we get to do that for each other. Not everything was brand new, but it was a little bit fun and mostly practical. We have a tradition of buying each other an ornament each year and stuffing each other's stockings since Santa doesn't come visit us anymore, and we were able to do that and more. My favorite heart felt gift from him was a funny Christmas card where he wrote a very sweet message on the back, and my favorite Christmas miracle gift was a tidied up kitchen, living room, and bathroom - it made it so much easier to enjoy the day together, and to capture a couple of special photos too :)

Gus was even lucky to be the recipient of some new doggie duds including a brand new bed and collar! And to celebrate both of those new things he also got a Christmas Eve bath - which was very much needed.

Here are a few pictures of our fun . . .

Gus enjoying his new dog bed after his bath

Merry Christmas Gus!

Christmas tree with gifts surrounding it

We have decided to down size for next year

This big guy is much too big for our little apartment

Stuffed Stockings ( sorry the pic is crooked)


Kevin posing with his stocking

Kevin and his Wolverine ornament

My stuffed stocking and Christmas Card

Me with my favorite thrift store gift! Kermit

Kevin rescued him from the thrift store floor

washed him up, trimmed his fuzz, and fixed

his froggie eye balls, just for me! Love him!

Kevin's favorite gift of the day: new tool boxes!

All in all, we had a really nice day. We got to spend the majority of the day just the two of us, and met up with his side of the family in the afternoon for a little pot luck and a white elephant gift exchange. And just a week before we spent the afternoon with my side of the family eating Chinese food and doing a $10 gift exchange, which was also a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone who made our holiday a little brighter and happier! We love you!