If you missed the other two posts that I made previously this week on our first Christmas celebration as a Mr. and Mrs. you can see photos and read all about our travels, holiday experiences and all the sweet treats we consumed within ten days, two families, and 5 gatherings!
Well, another Christmas has come and gone. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with those you love and hold close. Are you sad it is already over? If you have read the previous two posts, I think you know that I am sad. I swear I feel as though we were just spreading christmas cheer to family and friends and decorating our first tree. Now, it is time to take the tree down, hit the grind once again at work and school, and get back to normal life (if there is such a thing). I am sad it is all over just because I love the holidays SO much! I love that people get in the spirit of giving and I hope it stays around all year. However, as sad as it is that time passes by us so quickly, it will be the Christmas season again before we know it! Bring it on 2013!
Sadly, starting tonight through this weekend Tony and I plan to slowly take down our Christmas tree, outdoor decorations and home decorations. I love coming home and racing to see who can plug in all the outlets for our decor, outdoor lights and tree. Even though I am a bit depressed about Christmas being over, I think it is time for me to come to terms with the fact that Christmas will eventually come again. Unfortunately, we will have to wait almost another year to enjoy a festive holiday home.
For me, this Christmas was very different to wake up with my husband at his parents home. I did not wake up as I normally have the past 22 years to spend the entire day in my pajamas with my parents and sister. While this Christmas was different in many other ways for Tony too, I believe that during the next few years he and I will learn what we value most out of our holidays. Some traditions that we have started within the last six months of our marriage may continue and some traditions may be put to rest. Eventually, we will figure out what is best for us and as our family grows, I am sure we will learn more of how we plan to share time between his family and my family. I guess you can say that Tony and I are learning what our "new normal" will be in the coming years.
Tony and I have been celebrating Christmas since Thanksgiving. Ha! I know that sounds bad, but it truly is not. He and I needed new clothing for different upcoming events this year. He is in the professional world more often than not now and I am going to be in the schools often this semester, therefore we had to make some changes to our wardrobe. Since Thanksgiving we have been shopping, couponing, and making sure we find the best deals on clothing that will last us a good while. We also made sure to pick up our family and sibling gifts early instead of fighting the long lines closer to Christmas.
We decided to not splurge on each other on gifts that we did not need, which was an awesome feeling. It is one "new aspect" of marriage that we am growing more accustom to and are loving! If I was honest, you should know that we truly never splurge on "wants". Every now and then we will eat out and see a movie but most time we only buy what we need. Christmas is one of those holiday gift giving times that we have deemed one to obtain "needs" instead of frivolous items that are materialistic and not realistic for our lifestyle. Times change and styles change often, so what is the rush for the most popular wants these days anyhow? Plus, once you have swapped Christmas gifts for seven years and received a ton of wonderful starter wedding gifts only 6 short months ago, there is truly not much else that we can give to each other besides our love, time, and laughs along the way.
Actually, once I finished with finals the week or so before Christmas we stuck to our word to spend more time together instead of fighting the hustle and bustle of crowds and traffic out and about shopping in our busy area. We carved out each evening and found something different to do each night together. We decided to experience Christmas and experience Birmingham differently than we have in the past 6 months. We rode around in different suburbs of Birmingham looking at Christmas lights. We experienced A Night Out On The Town at the Historical Alabama Theatre. We made Personalized Christmas Ornaments for our first tree using a saved wedding invitation and honeymoon pictures. We received a new dishwasher and attended our very first professional Christmas dinner. All in all, I think we made the most of our evenings together while celebrating the first week or so of Christmas break.
Then, our traveling began the Friday before Christmas. We headed south for Baton Rouge after lunch on Friday and stayed through Christmas Eve night. Next, we headed to Alabama for Christmas Day until the end of the week. Finally, we spent this past weekend celebrating our final Christmas celebration with the rest of Tony's extended family.
Here is a bit more of a recap photo style! I hope you enjoy!
I am not sure we packed enough for ten days away from our little home. What do you think? :)
After a few stops and fighting Christmas traffic, we arrived at my parent's home in Louisiana just in time for dinner.
Afterwards, we celebrated Miss Bella's second birthday living with the Kliebert family. My family adopted Bella on December 21, 2010 after she was rescued from a pile of leaves in a suburb of Baton Rouge. She had been physically hurt, was undernourished and abandoned.
A family friend knew that we were looking for a puppy for Mary Kathryn and also knew the lady that found Bella. Bella was nursed back to health while staying at Kleinpeter Pet Hospital for a little over one month. We were able to become pet owners FREE of charge, as long as we could provide a stable and loving home. Since we have been pet owners, Miss Bella has been a wonderful addition to our family. Miss Bella will turn three years old in March of 2013. :)
If you would like, you can read more of Bella's story HERE.
Miss Bella is a diva and she knows it! This sister works it! God love this beauty!
The newest Kliebert pet, Scooter/Mason/Scoot was not very keen on Tony and I until the day we were planning to leave. I think he is not used to us yet.
It took Bella time to grow accustom to a new family and I think it will probably take him a few more visits to remember who Tony and I are.
Our family loves these chihuahua babies! Aren't they precious as can be? I have never been a huge pet person until our family adopted Bella two years ago. Once I moved back to Alabama my parents bought Scooter from a chihuahua tea cup breeder in Hammond.
As you can tell from the photos, Bella is very shy and not a photogenic puppy. On the other hand, Scooter is full on energy and always wants his picture taken. He has to be right up in the middle of everything and everyone.
How crazy is it that I love these puppies so much? I had to take in every minute that I could to enjoy their puppy love while we were in town.
While we were loading our car before we left Miss Bella jumped in and sat on the middle console. She started crying and thought we were going to take her for a car ride, which is her favorite past time! It absolutely broke my heart to have to drive away without her in my arms. I am 22 years old and it was such a tearful moment for me all because of a dog.
I hope I did not bore you with all the puppy pictures. I love them and miss them so much! I just had to share part of my heart.
Let's move on to some decor and family photos.
These are a few of my Mother's Christmas displays around our home. They all are so elegant, different, and gorgeous. She found many at Goodwill, local garage and estate sales. How trendy and frugal!
Of course there was a Chihuahua-LSU Christmas tree! Eventually I hope to create a Alabama-LSU Christmas tree similar to this one for our home once we have more space.
My little sister actually made these gorgeous trees in the photo below. She is so creative! I will not be surprised if she grows up to be an artist or designer of some sort one day.
The colored cones were plain when she bought them. Then, she spray painted and glittered the cones different colors for Christmas time.
I am obsessed with how awesome they turned out! I think they are gorgeous. They look like something you would buy at Hobby Lobby for a pricey pretty penny.
How awesome are those stockings in the photo below? My mom actually made one of them. She is trendy like that on many occasions! The other two she found at the new Goodwill store in our local area. Pretty good finds if you ask me!
And, of course I wanted to post the cute LSU-chihuahua tree again by itself. I thought it was too precious and unique to not give it its own little moment to shine on the blog. There is never enough puppy love or Geaux Tigers moments to share with you all! :)
On Saturday we spent the day with the puppies, Mary Kathryn, and my parents. We had planned to go ice skating at the River Center but all the time slots sold out too quickly.
While we did not get much done, it was great to take some time to chill out with my family, visit and relax for a little while before the real hustle and bustle of the weekend started.
While we did not get much done, it was great to take some time to chill out with my family, visit and relax for a little while before the real hustle and bustle of the weekend started.
Tony and Steve, my step father, spent most of the mornings with the puppies while all the ladies got dressed. The weather ended up being awesome so they walked the dogs around the neighborhood and then took a chill break on the couch afterwards each day. My sister and I were able to sneak these few photos below. You cannot tell me that Tony Harper does not love these puppies, too!
Funny Story: Tony is going to hate me for sharing this but I thought it was hilarious because I have experienced the same thing many times while living at home. I had hopes of one day he and I owning an inside puppy once we have a home and yard. Well, I think those hopes have been demolished. One morning Tony woke up and went to the bathroom pretty early. He ended up stepping in fresh Bella poo in front of the toilet! :/ (If she cannot make it outside in time, she will always go on the run right in front of the toilet in the bathroom. It is her way of saying, "Sorry, I could not hold it!") I will never forget the look on his face! Needless to say, it is possible that I will never get my inside puppy. Maybe our future children will influence him more than me. We shall wait and see!
This is his "Kalyn, do not take my picture and do not post it on Instagram either. You know I officially hate inside dogs" face. The puppies still love him, though! Deep down, I think he still loves the puppies, too! That bottom picture says it all. :)
Are those matching sweaters cute or what? I loved them! This was one of three matching sets the chi babies own. They are totally spoiled rotten!
Once again, Bella is hiding her face and Scooter is all eyes and ears for the camera!
Mary Kathryn is growing up, y'all. Her choice of clothing is changing, she wears make-up now, pierced her own ears, has a sassy mouth to go along with her strong willed attitude, and recently got bangs cut to be just like her big sister. Also, she is so tall and starting to act so much more mature (when she wants to).
I still cannot believe that she will be 14 years old in three months! By then, it is possible that she will eventually be taller than me. Our sweet, strong willed, St. Patrick's baby... It seems like just yesterday she was sleeping in a bassinet in the living room all swaddled in blankets. Time sure has flown since then!
Later Saturday evening we were able to meet Mary Kathryn's boyfriend, Triston. :)
We rode around town and looked at all the Christmas lights. It was so much fun to see all the different yard decorations! Louisiana residents definitely had more yard displays to see than that of Alabama residents.
I think very single home in our neighborhood had some sort of light display. It was a subdivision that looked gorgeous and full of holiday cheer.
I hope one day our future home will look like this during the Christmas season. :)
On Sunday my entire family on my Mom's side came to our house to celebrate Christmas while Tony and I were in town.
We had a Cajun Cuisine Christmas style lunch together and spent the afternoon catching up since we have not seen many of these family faces since our wedding.
Husband and I celebrated 6 months of marriage the same day, too! :)
Tony Harper got his Wing Stop fix for more than one meal while we were in town. If you have a Wing Stop near you and have not tried it, what are you waiting for? There are not many Wing Stops around us. When we have the opportunity to grab some of their grub we certainly take a moment to stop and enjoy.
I believe the closest stops are in Destin, FL, Jackson, MS, and Zachary, LA.
Christmas Day was spent with the Randolph family in Alabama.
We had breakfast with Tony's grandparents, parents and brother. Then, we went to lunch with the rest of Tony's extended family.
These are a few photos of some of my Mother-in-law's Christmas decorations.
I made it to the mantle last year, y'all! It was exciting for Tony and I to see all the stockings up there when we arrived. I actually remembered to take a picture of the mantle this year since I forgot last year.
While out and about running errands with a long time friend I finally found an ornament that I had been looking for everywhere BEFORE Christmas. Thankfully, I was able to buy this ornament on sale at a local shop in our hometown.
We put it on the tree as soon as we arrived home. Next Christmas it will definitely get a little more attention time on our second tree.
The rest of the week was spent doing things that we normally do not have the time for or do not have the access to while living in the city.
Overall, Christmas was wonderful, tiring, exciting, different, loving, and fun. I am sure I could think of many other adjectives, but those will do. Most importantly, I am thankful for my Savior's birth, the love of a faithful husband, and family who is always there for us.
Thinking back over all that transpired during our first Christmas, I must say that we are very blessed. It was wonderful to celebrate the reason for the season, visit with my Louisiana family, and spend time with Tony's Alabama family. Even though we were on the road away from our home more than one week we were still able to relax, refresh, reminisce on the past, make new memories, start new traditions, and see many people that we have not seen since our wedding. Also, this Christmas was the first Christmas that Tony and I were able to spend the entire day together. I must say that we loved every single minute of it and are so thankful for how far we have come since Christmas last year.
Be Merry! I hope you all have a wonderful day!
Our St. Lucia honeymoon post that I spoke of earlier this week will be published later this weekend! I cannot wait to share it with you all! I hope you will come back for more from Love.Laughter.Happily Ever After! :)
As always, until next time- Happy Blogging!
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