Christmas, the New Year, and a Birthday

Christmas Eve was a warm day. I have struggled to take a family photo each Christmas Eve and of course this year I do not take one either. I was very disappointed in how little photos I managed this holiday season. I didn't take a photo of one of the boys putting the star on the tree because Eliot begged to decorate the tree early in the morning before school. We had a good time together decorating it, but in the rush of the morning, I enjoyed our moments together instead of taking pictures. Then on Christmas Eve, I felt pulled in so many directions that I didn't even take a picture of us all. I did manage one photo of Chris and the boys (which is still on the camera) because they all wore Hawaiian shirts since it was so warm.

Eliot had so many questions about Santa this year. I feel like a horrible parent, but I just don't "feel the magic" when it comes to perpetuating the Santa story. I love the lights, the greenery, and celebrating Christ. I just can't muster up creating elaborate explanations for Santa. I didn't tell him Santa wasn't' real, though. I just asked him what he thought and let him develop his own ideas.

We did a lot of other Christmas traditions, though. We walked through the lights at the Botanical Gardens. One of our neighbor is quite famous for having an insane Christmas light set-up (like, featured on TV famous), so Chris walked to their house with the boys most nights. We went to Busch Gardens for Christmas Town. On Christmas Eve, we had dinner with my parents, sister, and her family. My aunt and uncle came in town for a visit the day after Christmas and then Chris's parents came to visit shortly thereafter. It was great to see everyone.

Before I knew it, we were in 2016! 2015 had been a good year for us. The boys continued to grow. Eliot finished up his first year of pre-K and then entered his second year while Jack started Parent's Morning Out once a week. I started working part-time at the community college in addition to my full-time job, which has been fun in a new challenging way. Chris finished up his doctorate in the fall and also ran over 1,000 miles in the year! I can't begin to imagine what 2016 will hold for us. I'm not planning too many changes or anything, but I hope to continue to grow more healthy.