Christmas

My husband turned 33 this week. His birthday wasn't a big affair for two reasons - 1, he doesn't like it to be a big deal, and 2, I kinda forgot... Well, not forgot exactly, because I knew his birthday was the 28th, and I had already bought his present. Actually, I had already given him his present; he didn't want cake... So, on Monday morning, I didn't know what the date was and so I didn't realize it was "the big day". He's not thrilled about being 33, although I must say he's handling it better than I'm dealing with my upcoming birthday. I'm not looking forward to being... well, that old. :)
The kids had a great Christmas. We celebrated on the 23rd. We spent a quiet morning here - just the 5 of us. We opened gifts and just relaxed. The next day we went to the park and played and then went Christmas light looking in the evening. We had hor dorves both days and tried to keep things as easy as possible. It was definitely a change from last year... Nathan got a scooter and the weather was nice enough for him to actually go outside and ride it. It's a long ways from the snow we had the past few Christmases.
Presents this year included lots of "Littlest Pet Shop", a Webkinz apiece, some movies and Wii games, puzzles, Nerf guns... It was a lot of fun. As of today, I've cleaned up all the decorations with the exception of the tree. Its on the schedule for Saturday.
For New Years Eve, Lowell and I are going out. I am very excited about it!! We haven't been out in quite awhile and I've missed being 'just us'. I love spending time with my husband. I love that, after all these years (it'll be 14 in June!!) we still enjoy each other's company. We legitametly like each other. And I think that's special - and precious in this day and age. I feel totally blessed that my husband appreciates our relationship enough to nurture it. He makes us a priority, and I love that. He even dedicated me a song the other day... :)
This year hasn't been the greatest, that's for sure, but it has definitely had its share of blessings. We made the move to Arizona; my Masters program is coming along nicely; Lowell and I both have jobs; our kids are healthy and doing well in school... We are incredibly blessed and thankful for all that God has done in our lives in 2009. And we're excited about what He has planned for 2010~ :)