Magic

If there was one word to adequately describe our Christmas break, without a doubt, it would be "magic". And if there were one photo to precisely depict the joy we encountered, my pick would be this one:



I love the expressions on each face. Pure joy in each set of eyes. Unbridled exhilaration sweeping down that snow covered embankment. Being kids. Enjoying life. Letting go.





I'm in a bit of a funk tonight. Nothing terrible, just a bad day, generally. So, I turn to my computer, my photos, my babbling words. I need to feel the happiness that reflection brings. I need reminders of beautiful moments and photos that shout at me to snap out of it.





I reflect on how grateful I am to have been able to have an entire two weeks off of work over the Christmas break to spend with my babies and travel. Holidays are anything but relaxing and I'm sure that many would agree that 99 times out of 100 you return to work needing a vacation worse than you did before. Still, it's all so totally worth it in the end. It has been magical.



This holiday season we checked off our list all the requirements for a magical Christmas. We baked cookies, we wrapped presents, we wrote letters to Santa, we exchanged gifts, we sprinkled reindeer food, we snuggled in by warm fires, we traveled. Travel proved to be a bit more difficult than usual due to weather. But oh, the beauty of it all. The entire trip to KY was so picturesque around every bend. I could feel B's frustration level rise at times as I would beg him to slow down a bit so I could snap a picture.













Although the weather did make for interesting travel (we ended up stranded in a hotel on Christmas night with only Doritos and a few slices of Angel Food cake B's mom had sent with us for supper!) the weather also made for backdrops straight from a painting scene. The snowy scene called for sleds. So we obliged. And when I say we, I do not mean just the littles. I mean even the thirty-somethings that forgot they weren't 50 pounds lighter and 20 years younger. We all took turns and forgot just for a while that we were adults. It was...magic.








Snow pictures are always a favorite of mine. Everything sparkles and appears so clean, like the snow is there to cleanse the earth of all the dirt and grime. Kids are all smiles while playing in the snow and it's almost impossible to get a bad shot. I ended up with somewhere around 400 pictures over the Christmas break and I dare say half of them were made while playing in the snow!








About a fourth of my pictures were Christmas Eve and Christmas celebrations. We celebrated Christmas Eve with B's family. It's always a celebrated success when we can get everyone gathered for one picture. And the fact that everyone's eyes are actually open is just the cherry on top.






*This is what Christmas chaos looks like!*

Santa visited KY with a few small gifts and left a note explaining that the rest of the presents were waiting on the boys at home. That made leaving a bit more bearable. We returned home and went straight in to the next round of family gatherings with my brother, new sis and nephew arriving. We partied for a week straight. Everyone was sick off of junk food. We had a party for Tennessee's big Music City Bowl game and all dressed in orange and white. Any excuse to have a party and eat junk food and wear orange! We suffered another heartbreaking loss but we have high hopes for next year! Go Vols!




My brother and his crew stayed through New Year's and partied with us like it was 1999--er, as much as a bunch of old, worn out folks can! Jason and Paige and kids came in for New Year's also. Enter more junk food and party spreads. But we can't help ourselves. We LOVE New Year's. We love our annual group photo. :) And we love adding newbies to it! We go all out, complete with party hats, glasses, party blowers, confetti and sparkling juice. :) Magic.















When the partying is over and everyone has returned home you can't help but collapse on the sofa with a half-hearted smile. You're semi-broken inside from the loneliness that overwhelms you when your loved ones part but you're also partly glad to get back to normal routines and more low-keyed days and nights. But you're 100% sure that if you had the choice you'd do it all again. After all, who can resist the magic?