Christmas has come and gone...

Despite not having a job, my grandfather passing away, and not having any real money for gifts this year, Christmas actually went really well, and I'm very grateful for that. This year we spent Christmas with three parts of our families. It's been a long week this past week, because given the lack of funds for gifts, I decided that I would try to make gifts for my family like I used to do as a child. I hoped that everyone would like them, because I know that as a kid, you don't really grasp the 'thought that counts' aspect at Christmas time. Thankfully they all liked them, or at least pretended too. I made all of the kids Christmas ornaments that were animals, with their names on them, and then made glittery decorative balls for my aunts, my cousin Rachel, and my mom. My big give to my mom though was a "love" box that I had everyone fill out letters to her, and put them in the box that I decorated.

It's been a very long, rough month for all of us, but for my mom especially. When my grandfather passed away last month it really shifted the family a lot. My grandmother needs constant help, so in order to better do that, my family made the decision to move in with her. The moving process has been a long, hard one. My mom however, somehow through all the hardship has managed to put on a happy face and take care of everyone from making the move, to helping grandma get from one part of the house to the other, to making meals everyday for the whole family. She really is a superwoman. I wanted her to know we all love her and are grateful for all that she's done. Several people thought it was stupid and didn't take it seriously, but when I saw her cry as she read them, I knew she appreciated it. I'm happy for that.

So we got up early and headed to my Grandma's around 9:30am, where mom made us all eggs and toast and hot tea for breakfast. Then once Aunt Kate and Uncle Drew got there we began opening presents. At around 11:30am we headed out from Grandma's and headed to David's parents' house for lunch with his family. Unfortunately Larry and Bob and Duane and Birgit (I know, I butchered the spelling, sorry) weren't there, but we spent it with David's mom and dad, Elizabeth (whom it was great to see again), Meredith & Mike and the kids, and David's brother Robert. We opened presents and sat down for a nice lunch together. Then at around 1:30pm we headed out, stopped back at our house to pick up the cookies and lemon chiffon pie that I made and the slideshow and headed back to my Grandma's for an early Christmas dinner. There was soooo much food. More and more family came. I believe we had like 17 people there for dinner. Then we opened presents again and watched a slideshow I made. At like 6pm we headed out once again for Christmas at Aunt Bobbie's house, where we opened MORE presents, and hung out for a little while, which was nice. Finally we headed back to my Grandma's AGAIN where we met my uncle's new girlfriend and her daughter. Eventually we were able to finally head home for the night, and Douglas came over and we watched 'Drillbit Taylor' which was a very cute movie. It was a very long very filled day, but it turned out just right. :)

Today I spent the day applying for more jobs again and making sure all the paperwork for school is ready.

I'm looking at how much I just wrote and realize I don't write in this journal enough, but I guess there's just not that many exciting or important things going on, but I wanted to share with everyone our Christmas, and I hope that everyone else had a great one! :)

AHHHH!!

I got into grad school! I start in spring! I could not be happier! Now I just need a new job and I'll be set!!