2010 Family Christmas in Alabama

"You don't choose your family.  They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."  ~Desmond Tutu


WOW... what a fantastic way to spend Christmas... with your family! Not to mention that Santa was VERY GOOD to all of us too!

This year was extra special in that we had my Brother, Carrie, their two kids- Reid, Lily and my Mom here with us to celebrate the holiday season. Brad and Carrie drove 13 hours from Austin, TX to be with us for a week and Mom drove 7 hours up from Jacksonville, FL... we sincerely appreciate them making a huge sacrifice to be here this year!

cha·os
–noun

1.

a state of utter confusion or disorder; a total lack of organization or order.

2.

any confused, disorderly mass: a chaos of meaningless phrases.

3.

the infinity of space or formless matter supposed to have preceded the existence of the ordered universe.

4.

(initial capital letter) the personification of this in any of several ancient Greek myths.

5.

Obsolete. a chasm or abyss.

The kitchen was like a 24 hour diner... counter tops covered with multiple tins filled with all kinds of goodies... cookies, fudge, toffee, Chex mix, etc... we shared in some fantastic meals this past week to include an incredible spread on Christmas night. Just as we sat down eat dinner it began to snow outside... how perfect is that?

We also took the opportunity to drive up and spend the afternoon touring the Auburn University campus... and managed to sneak in lunch at Guthrie's... what a great day!

Managing your caloric intake this time of year is nearly impossible.. but my Brother and I took the opportunity we had together to get in some runs... we are both training for running events and despite the quick turn in temperatures from the 60's to the 20's we managed to get in a couple of great runs.... the highlight for me was running a 10K on the day after Christmas... it was 33 degrees and snowing the entire run... it was the easiest 6 miles I have ever run in my life and what a treat to be able to talk with my Brother while we ran on such a picturesque morning!

All good things must come to an end... and on Tuesday Mom had to depart back to Jax followed by Brad and Carrie on Wednesday... time with family is so precious... we can never seem to get enough of it... especially those moments at the dinner table when everyone is laughing themselves into an asthma attack! We are truly thankful to have such a wonderful family and the opportunity to spend this year's Christmas with them in our home! We love you guys!

Family life is a bit like a runny peach pie - not perfect but who's complaining?  ~Robert Brault