Jingled-out...

Its the morning after Christmas and I feel like the holiday train ran me over.
I actually had to set my alarm to wake up at 7:30...haven't done that in a long time.  Yesterday was jam-packed with events, eating, opening gifts, repeat.  After 13 hours of family I was certain of 2 things...1) The song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of The Year" holds way too much irony, and 2) Therapy is a wise investment.  We have a close family and honestly function fairly well together, but 13 hours is 13 hours.  Its the extreme opposite of solitary confinement and yet both might make you lose your mind.  And actually, our holiday began the night before with a church service and then Christmas with my father-in-law's side of the family.
The church service was great, especially when my husband's family was gathered around the communion table at the front of the church passing around the bread, and I dropped mine on the floor.  For the record, the 5 second rule does not apply to the body of Christ.  Ryan bumped me, I drop it, my brother-in-law starts laughing, I start laughing,...and we basically managed to ruin any seriousness expected in that moment.  It reminded me of my older brother, who, no matter the event, would start laughing at the most inappropriate time possible.  Prime example....My mother's aunt passed away a few years ago and we all traveled to the funeral to support my mom.  My brother, his wife, me, and a few other distant family members were piled in a pew like sardines.  Next thing I know my brother has his head down and is laughing.  What is wrong with my family?  His shoulders are shaking, which causes mine to shake, and it was a domino effect.  It finally got so bad that he had to get up and walk to the back of the church with the screaming babies.  There he was, 27 years old...standing at the back of the church with upset babies....not because he was crying...but because he was laughing.
Another moment when my mom probably contemplated beating us.

Anyway, Christmas was great and I absolutely loved watching my niece rip into her gifts.  Even though she's young, she quickly new that the huge pile of presents was hers.

One of the highlight gifts was this hat that my younger brother Jordan gave my mom.  The obnoxious thing had a button on the side to turn it on and it played music, lit up, and moved back and forth on the top.  It was ridiculous and perfect for my mom.  She is nuts.  Happy and nuts.  From the moment everyone walked in, she took this salt shaker bottle filled with bells and was "sprinkling" it over everyone's head saying it was "jingle seasoning."  Yes, this is the gene pool I come from.  I mean, look at this woman...THIS is the epitome of happy on Christmas:

2nd best gift....as you know my grandpa passed away in May, and well ever since then his stuff has been sorted through, distributed, or sold.  Well, except for a few things....
He always wore cut off shorts and a Hawaiian shirt...time of year was irrelevant.  So, my parents wrapped up 2 of his classic "outfits" and gave them to my brothers...it was great.  The only rule was that you couldn't wear underwear or shoes.  Papa never did.  So that was the rule.

Ah yes, what a memorable day.
We laughed, cried, ate like we haven't seen food before, opened gifts, and thanked God for so many blessings.  It was awesome.

Whew, today will be filled with cleaning, preparing meals for the week, and a chest workout.  I've got to "detox" a little bit from all the sugar yesterday.  My pancreas is twitching.  Actually looking forward to some plain food today.

Ok, that's it for now...hope your Christmas was a blessing and entertaining to say the least :)
Merry Christmas from the Falcon house!