Have A Little Faith in We

Hi friends and welcome to Christmas in July here on the blog! During the holidays I always capture a lot of fun pictures and look forward to sharing them on the blog. But that season is so full and busy, plus I usually get too excited to jump into new year posts, my Christmas fun can be forgotten! So I have decided to do a little Christmas in July over the next few days and highlight my favorites from the 2018 season!

To kick off the holidays I like to start with activities that get you in the merry state of mind (Check out our fun Gaylord National Day to see how my sisters, parents and nieces kicked off Christmas) and decorating the house.

Unfortunately a sick holiday was not part of the original plan, but as you may recall we were trying to figure out what was going on with Danny and there were a few hospitalizations in November and December. It is not ideal, but there is something about being able to rest and nap in the middle of the holiday merriment that is cozy. And of course, I think it made us really enjoy the days that Danny felt good and we were encouraged to make this a fun holiday as much as possible.

Since Danny and I both grew up here, we always have several holidays on both sides of our families to enjoy and first up was the Heppes! My Dad’s father had passed in October and this encouraged us to make this get together – easy, fun and just about being together. We had a gift grab that involved some very humorous gifts, enjoyed tasty treats and had just relished our time together.

 

We know when the Christmas season has officially started, when the Heppes have gathered to celebrate!

Then it was Christmas Eve, which has turned into a holiday for just Danny and I. Ever since transplant, this day has become our quiet time to spend just our family (plus we got engaged on Christmas Eve – what a perfect pause in the holiday excitement to honor the begging of it all). We started out the morning with a visit from our Pittsburgh friends for brunch! Then resting and naps and finally a really special dinner at one of our favorites Magnolia’s. This Christmas we toasted how far we have come and how we keep walking even when things have suddenly gotten bumpy again. We committed to not giving up and continuing to work on the goals we had set out for ourselves – even if we were gonna have to balance health too. Since that dinner we have had incredible blessings of change and I will always cherish this meal that we agreed, we were a team that refused to stop building the life we have dreamt of. And what better way to conclude a day that was about our family, committing to hope through faith in each other and of course in our God and beautiful religion: we welcomed December 25, 2018 at midnight mass.

More Christmas fun to come …. stay tuned!

Thanks so much for reading and remember to make it a great day!
Jackie