Boxing day....

Is chilled.

I'm trying to watch a movie, but I can't hear the TV because dad is vacuuming. Annoying. Who vacuums the house on Boxing Day?!

Christmas 2010

Christmas is once again upon us.

Christmas eve was a flurry of wrapping presents, visiting neighbours, cooking pheasant, and christmas traditions of stories and Polar Express.

Christmas day was a day of presents, laughing at the dog helping us unwrap presents, eating, family, relaxing, eating, coffee, walking, snow, movies; and remembering that above all the reason we celebrate Christmas is because Jesus basically was born so that He could die. And die for us to have freedom. Pretty awesome reason to be celebrating if you ask me.

Merry christmas to all, to family and friends near and far - wish I could be with every one of you!

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree

In Stratford with mom and Dylan before Christmas

Winter icicles

Christmas Eve walk with Dylan

Christmas Eve walk

Skye

Christmas Day tea

Opening presents

Christmas dinner - Turkey, Gammon, Duck, and all the other bits and pieces!

Christmas day walk

Snow dusting.

Whilst the rest of the UK has been having a fairly decent amount of snow (decent by our standards. My Americans, don't laugh!), here in the West Midlands we have had hardly anything!! I'm really not happy. All we've had are the abnormally freezing cold temperatures and a cold house. Yay.

This morning we did wake up to a light dusting of snow (still not too happy with that). I took the pup for a walk at the canal. It was really beautiful, with the water frozen over, and the canal boats seemingly trapped in the ice.

Here are some pics.

Ducks on the frozen water

Skye

Locks

Frozen water

Christmas!

Today is christmas day, yet again! Where has this year gone?!

Woke up this morning (as you usually do in the mornings haha) and opened presents. Skye helped us by ripping up the paper and ripping the paper of presents. She loved it.

Then we went to church, and it was a pretty boring service and all the youth were sitting texting on their phones haha. The highlight of the service was when all the little kids got to go up on the stage and show off their presents, and one of the boys from youth (about 16) went up to the front for a joke, and he stood there the whole time (towering above the little kids!), and at the end he put his hand up and said that he got Michael Jackson socks!! hahahahaha!!!! All of the youth were all cracking up! It was hilarious!!

The Breens came over for christmas lunch (we had turkey, gammon, and duck, and all the other things you have); and we all made a lot of noise and ate too much food and sat and watched movies. After lunch Uncle Rob, Sean, Shan, Dylan and I took Skye for a long walk in the fields. It was fun, but cold. The snow we had yesterday didn't stick around so we didn't really have our white christmas!! :-( But we have patches of snow and ice all of the place, so I guess we had a bit of white.

We then came back from the walk and sat and watched Fawlty Towers haha.

The pup lay stretched out in front of the fire, content. It's been an exciting day of opening presents, saying hi to people, and walking. She is definitely a happy pup.

I'm proud of her. Feel like a proud mama. She has been so well behaved today. Hasn't jumped up at people or made a nuisance of herself :-)

I think I'm gonna go now as we're gonna have desert. Eat more food. Get fatter. You know how it goes. :-)

The Germans come to town....

This evening I went with the fam to Solihull (our local town centre) to walk around the German market that was visiting.

Although very small (we walked around it in about 5 minutes!), it was just such a great feeling to - walking around in the cold, dressed up warmly; christmas smells, sights and sounds!

It is just little under a month now until christmas, and I am really starting to feel in the mood!

It was great evening out with the fam, having fun together and then warming up with coffee and hot chocolate :-)

Feeling christmasy?

Today mom and I went for a coffee at Starbucks and then went to John Lewis to look at winter coats.

Starbucks is looking christmasy with its red paper cups and christmas 'flavoured' drinks. All we need now is the christmas tunes, and it will be perfect to have a coffee after a night of christmas shopping.

John Lewis, like all big department stores, really pull out all the stops during the christmas season, with christmas decorations and smells, and all the winter clothing and colours that automatically make you think 'christmas'.

Am definitely starting to feel christmasy.

It is sad though that there are so many things nowadays that make you think of christmas, and very few of the things are anything to do with Jesus and the nativity story.

I don't believe that there is anything wrong with how christmas is celebrated, it's a party celebrating Jesus' birthday.

However, during this festive season, lets not forget to invite the birthday boy himself!

Shopping + coffee + fam = good times

Had a really great evening tonight when I went out lat night shopping with my mom, brother and nana.
We went to the Bear Factory to buy a present for my cousin, and I decided that one of my ambitions in life is to get a bear from the Bear Factory!!

After that we went to Starbucks and had a coffee, and then looked around a christmas shop, which, even though it's not even halloween yet, was great fun!

It was really relaxed and chilled and quiet in the shopping mall. For some reason it all made me think of the christmas season.

Looking forward to christmas this year. :-)