after all, there's only one more sleep til christmas

Today is just so lovely.

Brian and I are managing to split Christmas between our two families, since we didn't want to have to pick this year. So our first Christmas Eve together is also my first Christmas Eve with my new in-laws. Brian and I are taking a break from our obsessive Christmas movie watching so that my father-in-law can watch some football; my mother-in-law is frying oysters for everyone (except me) to snack on. My brother-in-law is out with friends, but he'll be back for the evening.

Yesterday we drove out to West Virginia to spend the day with Brian's mother's family, and I finally got to meet the cousins that couldn't make it to the wedding. I still have a hard time believing that anyone could have only three cousins on one side of the family (and only four on the other side) but Brian assures me that that's because my family is freakishly large. And they were all wonderful and fun.

All our shopping is done; Brian and I probably spent too much on presents, but everyone has just been so wonderful and generous to us this year that we wanted to be the same for them. We had coffee with a wonderful friend in a Santa hat (hi Josh!). Presents are wrapped and beneath the tree. They bought me my own stocking, with a "K" on it, so I would always have one for Christmas here. In a couple hours Brian and I will cook dinner (cajun tuna steaks, mmm) and then we'll all head to the Christmas Eve vigil mass. And then we will watch Muppet Christmas Carol, (because what else do you do on Christmas Eve?) and I will go to bed with my sweetheart and wake up to my first Christmas with my new family.

I still wish it would snow, but I suppose I'll take 60° weather as an acceptable trade-off. =)

Merry Christmas everyone!



(Because even if you don't celebrate the holiday, tomorrow can still be a wonderful day.)

via