Home for the Holidays

I am Lufkin-bound in approximately 15 minutes, woohoo! I am a little anxious about the trip because my cats are accompanying me for the first time in the two years I have had them. When I lived with Ashley she was always able to take care of the cats when I went home because her family lives in Austin. Now I do not have that luxury since my roommate is also from East Texas, but my parents are actually excited about seeing their grandcats (my dad has never even met them)! I imagine my other cat-loving family members will be happy to meet them as well (Tempe and Kathryn).

I just wanted to share a few Christmas traditions that I love:

1) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Pumping unit: I know that it's officially Christmas when I see this Lufkin staple lit up outside the mall. It's the bestest attraction in the city of Lufkin this time of year.

2) Santa's Sleigh: On top of our Christmas tree is a revolving Santa and his sleigh that rides around our Christmas tree. My parents bought this the first Christmas they were married, so this has always been part of my Christmas tree experience. We would be mesmorized by Santa for hours as children and somehow thought that Santa could see us from the top of our tree so we better behave!

3) Christmas Eve: Every year on Christmas Eve we visit the Jackson's and Tempe and Jerrell's. It's something we have done EVERY year, so it's quite a tradition. It's always good to see family and friends on Christmas Eve, and I just don't think it would seem like Christmas without it. I also look forward to the Christmas Eve candlelight service at church each year. I think our Sanctuary is beautiful, but it is especially pretty on Christmas Eve when all the lights are off and everyone is holding candles while singing "Silent Night".

4) Christmas Brunch: This is by far my most favorite meal of the year. It's one of the few meals that my mom cooks, and she does it well. Her stuffed french toast is so yummy! When we were little we would get up early and open our presents and then line them up in the hallway so family and friends could see when they came over to eat. My mom still tries to make us do that, but every year there are fewer and fewer presents to share... I think this year it will just be an envelope, haha.

5) The Durham's Christmas Party: This is a new tradition. In the last few years we have started having a party at my house for all of my friends from high school. We did this when we were in high school, and still hung out during the holidays while we were in college, just not in an organized fashion. It's good to catch up with old friends and see faces that you don't get to see all year, and every year more and more friends show up!

Well, that's it... some of my favorite Christmas traditions. I am headed to Lufkin and will be there until Monday, so I don't know when my next blog post might be. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!