Mary's Blog Corner: Family Christmas 2015

Annual Christmas Picture--Not bad for a hurry up and smile

This Christmas season was actually pretty stress-free and calm without too much rushing here and there and trying to do too many things at once. Since the Lehmans had been together quite often the last three months because of Dad's illness and death, we decided not to have a big get-together at Christmas, but instead when we celebrated Christmas with our individual families we would invite Mom to join us. This meant that Steve and I really did not have any family gatherings to attend because my family does not get together over Christmas and there were no other extended family get-togethers that were planned for this year. I actually really liked it. Although I enjoy seeing family, it was nice to have a relaxing holiday season. It eliminated a lot of the busyness and stress that I usually associate with this time of the year. We also went to a Christmas Eve Service which we can't normally do because traditionally Christmas Eve is when our children come to our house to celebrate Christmas. The service was put on by our district's youth group and we were really glad we could attend.

Since Steve and I did not have any plans for December 25, we spent the afternoon at Longwood Gardens. It was beautiful and we really enjoyed spending a quiet day together.

At Longwood Gardens

Our family got together this past Sunday. We decided to eat at Megan and Jeremy's house in their basement because sixteen people crowded into my kitchen is pretty full. It worked out really well and we had plenty of room to spare. After the meal we walked back to our house to open gifts and for the rest of the evening's activities. The only downside was that when we were ready to go to our house it was pouring down rain! Needless to say, most of us got soaked!