how many presents i've just straight up thrown away: 1, that i can remember
well, merry Christmas everyone!! this holiday season was a little different than previous ones. first of all, sam wasn't there b/c he got married (whoop whoop! that gets its own post later on). second of all, Justin was there because we got married (whoop whoop!). third of all, the magic was gone. yeah, i said it. i love Christmas, i always have. i believed in Santa for so long that i'm surprised my parents didn't have a sit down talk with me. i love Christmas music. i love the chill in the air and the lights on all the houses. i love Christmas mugs and hot chocolate and 'mama's hot tea' as caroline hess calls it. i love Christmas movies and tv specials. i love waking up early on Christmas morning and seeing my stocking bulging out with socks and candy and useless fun things. i was 24 and still wearing Christmas pajamas to bed on the 24th. i usually love the Christmas season parties and crazy shopping and lines to sit on santa's lap. i just think that Christmas has the potential to be the most magical, romantic and wonderful time of the year. this Christmas though, frankly, kind of sucked.
it was just busy. we had something to go to every single night. there was no romantic Christmas movie watching or drinking cocoa by the fire. there were no late night drives to see lights. in fact, there was barely time for anything. and then we went home and sam got married and went on a honeymoon and wasn't there when we woke up Christmas morning. i don't know, its like the last of the magic was gone. a couple days before santa's big day, however, i realized that yes, it wasn't like before and no, it didn't meet my expectations but the bottom line is that Christmas is really about the reality that our almighty, soveriegn God became a little baby that pooped his pants and THAT is really not very romantic at all. it actually would really suck and THAT means that He must love us a lot. and that part of Christmas (which, lets face it, should have always been the biggest part anyway) isn't one that is all about feelings as much as its about a rather harsh reality. but a great reality. so for the last 4 days before Christmas we salvaged in. salvaged the Christmas season by trying to sleep more, read about advent, go on trips to Charleston and just hang out and talk about things. here's a few pics:
Me and Justin by the Christmas village at Charleston place:
at the fountain before Justin tried to throw me in. . .
and back home building gingerbread houses out of chocolate. 
