This year our King family Thanksgiving was also our Christmas. We alternated every other year between Thanksgiving and Christmas for our get togethers. We had a ton of very yummy food!
Our family is blessed. We have never once doubted that God has given us more blessings than we can count. One of our many blessings is new family members who join us either by birth or marriage. My cousin Dionna's husband, Ron, joined our family three years ago. He has blessed us with his new perspective on life and Christianity. This year we made a point to write down what we are thankful for and had a family discussion about them and a family prayer. We had never really done that before and it was Ron who pointed out that we should be making an effort to show and voice our thanksgivings. So we did and for that and for Ron's insight we are very thankful.
2013 was not exactly the easiest year for our family. We lost two Great Uncles (Uncle Bill and Uncle Cloyce) as well as my Grandma. We also almost lost Ron to a heart attack. However, we were blessed with the birth of Eady just a few weeks ago and our family who draws together in times of hardship and we find blessings in that as well.
After our big Thanksgiving feast and prayer, it was present time! The kids got to open their gifts first. Carli & Ava do not like for everyone to watch them and are very reserved when they open presents. They got some really cute, fun stuff including monogrammed monkey toboggans, new books, crayon apron & coloring calender and new lighted ornaments for their Christmas tree.
Uncle Tone and Grammy did a fine job modeling the girls new toboggans for everyone since Carli and Ava would not. Once we got home with them, they are a favorite that the girls wear around the house and we will be taking to Amarillo at Christmas to keep them nice and warm!
Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Johnny got each kid a new fancy Christmas ornament that has a light in it! Carli asks to turn hers on every morning!
With all the really neat things the kids got, they will tell you that Aunt Genell's gift of their "walking stick candy canes filled with candy" is their most favorite. Ava was very grateful to Uncle Tone for helping her open hers so she could add to her sugar high for the day!
This year we went in with Dionna & Ron and Anthony to buy Jake and Allison a Child Training and Child Virtue Bible. We had given one to Michelle & Andy last year and I just finally finished marking my Child Training Bible and am just starting on the Virtue Bible. We were hoping that by giving Jake and Allison theirs unmarked, they would find more value in it and refer to it more by marking the Bibles themselves. We were all pretty excited when Gina sent us pictures of Jake and Allison working intently on marking their Bibles. :) We hope they get lots of use out of them!
After the kids gifts, they got to go play and the adults had a white elephant exchange. Keith was very pleased to come home with the gift he brought. :) I was pretty excited to get a new wreath for our front door.
This was our first family holiday without our Grandma. We all held up pretty good but she sure was missed. After our white elephant exchange, Momma pulled out a box full of gifts and told us this was a gift from Grandma. She had wanted to give everyone this last year but they had had a hard time finding what they needed to get it made. Inside each box was a cup-towel with a handwritten recipe of my Me-Maw. Me-Maw was Grandma's momma. They found a recipe that Me-Maw made regularly and it was in her handwriting and then they found her signature to add to it. Wow.
And still Grandma wasn't done. Grandma has given every single one of her grandkids a quilt. Most of us got it at a wedding shower. Anthony is the baby of the cousins and their is no question about the close, special relationship he and Grandma had. Over three years ago, Grandma started Anthony's quilt. With the help of my Mom and Aunt Carolyn she picked out the colors and type of quilt and for the most part pieced it herself. Just this year, she stayed on Aunt Carolyn's case that they needed to have it quilted for Anthony. Not a week before Grandma's stroke she asked about whether the quilt was finished or not. Three weeks after Grandma passed away, the lady who quilted it for her called to say it was ready. Grandma can keep better secrets than the rest of us because we could not stand to not give Anthony this gift from his Grandma. When God blesses him with an amazing wife, you better believe we will probably wrap it up and give it to her at a wedding shower. But until then, Anthony gets to hold onto and enjoy one last gift from his amazing Grandma.
It was an awesome day. Lots of emotions, lots of laughter and just good 'ol visiting. It was great. We thought ahead and brought the girls pjs to put on before we headed home. Sure enough they fell fast asleep in the car and slept til 8:30 the next morning.
They have sure enjoyed their gifts from their cousins, aunts and uncles! They've even shared a bit...it's a Christmas miracle!
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