Merry Humason Christmas!

I woke up this morning to the sound of a hair dryer. I live in a house with four other girls, so that's not terribly unusual. I stretched and rolled over... and then realized I had no idea where I was sleeping. Backtrack, backtrack, backtrack... Ah! I'm in Cincinnati. That's right. Sleeping on the futon in what used to be my bedroom. Ok. I closed my eyes again. OH WAIT! It's CHRISTMAS!!! I lay there for a while longer, listening. Mom and Dad were up. No noise from my siblings. Humason Family Tradition Law states that no person may go downstairs on Christmas morning until all parties are showered, dressed, and ready for the day. So instead of going downstairs, I ran into Lisa's room and jumped on her bed. "It'sChristmasIt'sChristmasIt'sChristmasIt'sChristmas!!!!!!" She woke up.

Humason Family Tradition Law has become a little lax in recent years, so Lisa and I came downstairs in our PJs. Other than that, though, our Christmas morning proceeded pretty much like every other Christmas morning I can remember:

Part 1: Stockings

My grandma knitted each of us one of these stockings with our names and birth years on them. Mom's making one for Andrew next year, so he'll officially be part of the family! Once upon a time our stockings were filled with candy and fun little knick knacks, but more recently we've all become practical.

I love that I will use everything in this stocking! No silly stuff that will take up space on a shelf somewhere. 

Part II: Breakfast

After stockings, we light a candle on the Christmas coffee cake (which we ONLY eat on Christmas) and sing happy birthday to Jesus.

Mom never let us eat just the coffee cake, though. We always had to have fruit or yogurt or something with it. Once upon a time I hated that, but now I'll happily take my fruit/Greek yogurt/homemade cinnamon granola parfait.

Part III: Presents

And finally, we open Christmas presents. Lisa and I passed out gifts this year, and then we take turns opening them one by one, from youngest to oldest. It usually takes a couple of hours, and I love every minute of it. (I would post a picture, but the only one I have is sideways and I don't feel like taking the time to figure out how to rotate it. On a different note, I apologize for the terrible photo quality today. I was using my .0000000312 megapixel cell phone camera.) I am blessed to have an incredibly wonderful family, and I love the way we have celebrated Christ's birth by being together every Christmas, not just in physical location, but with quality time together.

I'm taking my stocking with me this year, because in 5 days I'm becoming Mrs. Crisologo! Knowing that next Christmas will probably be completely different than the past 24 makes me a bit nostalgic, but I'm so excited to start new traditions with Andrew next year. Stay tuned for a Merry Crisologo Christmas post in 2012!

We're Together!

Together! Aren't we adorable?

T-minus nine days to the wedding! My last day at Asbury was on Friday, and I will cover nearly 3000 miles by air and car before finally landing in my new life in Des Moines.

 Wedding roadmap. Whew!

I'm writing currently from Andrew's parents' house in Alabama where we are spending a few days with his family before I head home for Christmas. We've filled the week so far with lots of wedding errands, including leaving my engagement ring at the jewler.

Shiny.

We're having it fused to my wedding band, so I won't get to wear it until after the wedding. Don't worry, though, Andrew made sure everyone will know he's staked his claim. If you see me in Cincinnati over Christmas, I'll be wearing this beauty:

Not-as-shiny $9 place-holder

Over and out for now. Merry Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve!