Christmas in Kingston

Sorry it has taken me so long to update my blog. We have been extremely busy around our house getting ready for Christmas. I don't know where the time has gone! We have enjoyed the holiday season so far and it has been so much fun seeing it through the eyes of a 2 year old! Caleb LOVES everything about Christmas this year. He is very excited about Santa Clause coming in a couple of days! He has been asking for a car and a present. We will have to see if Santa will bring him those! Yes, we do Santa Clause with Caleb, but we also do stress the importance of the real meaning of Christmas. He can tell you the entire Christmas story - Mary and Joseph, Bethleham, Wiseman, Shepards, Angels singing "Glory to God in the Highest" and of course, baby Jesus born in a manger. His favorite song is "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem." Don't ask me why, but he loves it!

We went to Tennessee last weekend to do 3 seperate Christmas's with our families. Yes, they all live in the small little town of Kingston. Russ and I figured this out on our first date and the rest is history! My grandparent's live in Kingston, as well as Russ' grandmother (dad's mom). His grandfather (mom's dad) lives a litte ways up the mountain in Wartburg. When we go to Kingston, we always go back and forth between the families. We had a wonderful time visiting with everyone, but it was exhausting! We drove the 5 hours on Friday night and arrived at my grandparents house around 11:00. After visiting with my grandparents and parents, we settled in after midnight. All 4 of us slept in the same room, so that was a joy! Caleb slept between Russ and I, so needless to say, none of us slept very well. We woke up early (thanks to Caleb, our little alarm clock) and enjoyed a nice breakfast with my family. My aunts, uncles and cousins all came around 10:30 and we celebrated our Christmas with them until 1:30. Then we said our goodbye's and rushed out the door to Grandma Rose's house (Russ' grandmother). We spent time with family, ate a big dinner around 5:00 and then celebrated Christmas with them that evening. We left around 9:00 to go back to my grandparent's house to sleep. Thankfully, Nana and Papa took Caleb to sleep with them, so Russ and I were able to get a good night's sleep. We woke up early Sunday morning and went back over to Grandma Rose's to eat a big breakfast. At noon we packed everyone up, said goodbye to Grandma Rose and went over to Aunt Carol Anne's house (Russ' aunt). We ate lunch and celebrated Christmas with Russ' mom's side of the family. This was a lot of fun because there is a house full of children. There were children, toys, presents and wrapping paper everywhere! We said our goodbye's around 4:30 and went back to my grandparent's house to see my aunt and cousin who couldn't make it on Saturday. We left Kingston around 6:30 and got back in Charlotte around 11:00. Caleb had a great time, got lots and lots of presents, and was absolutely exhausted! He slept the ENTIRE way home and then slept the ENTIRE night that night. He must have really needed that sleep. Believe me, that is not like Caleb! We were glad to be back home and we spent the next day trying to find places to put all of the new toys. We felt like Christmas was over because Caleb and Kathryn got so many gifts. It is hard to believe they are going to get more. Stay tuned...