Christmas Highlights

Even with all of the craziness of trying to settle into our home together, the Hagan household had some time to get in the Christmas spirit. I thought I'd share some highlights with you.

First, on December 9th, we hosted the youth group over for their annual party. We exchanged gifts, ate a lot of youth friendly food (they love pizza rolls) and made gift packs to take to a local nursing home. The night ended with several rounds of Christmas carols with some senior friends. You can tell from the picture below how much the kids loved both the festive hats I made them wear and the cookies they decorated.

Then, on the Saturday before Christmas, we hosted our DC friends for a Christmas extravaganza. This get-to-together is an annual favorite of the group before everyone begins to head out of town (many go out of the country for the holidays and we don't see them until after New Year's).

Kevin made most of our delicious meal with everyone else bring in other fun sides and dessert. All in all we feasted on a night of laughter, several rounds of the game Catch Phrase and a movie on tv. In additional, the group continued the tradition of giving each other cards instead of gifts and also bringing a children's toy for a local toy drive. For me, the card tradition is the best part as each one contained a significant message about what the particular person had meant to them in the previous year. It was amazing to get nine cards from such great friends, and feel the Christmas love!

You can see from the pictures below that Frank was up to his usual fun of making everyone laugh, especially while we were all cooking. We were blessed to have such a wonderful night in our home and also have three of the gang with us at church the next morning (I was preaching). The DC gang Christmas party 2007 was a blast!
Third, this year, I had the first "real" Christmas tree in my house that I can remember. Kevin loves live trees and has gotten one most of the years he has spent in DC. However, when the idea of getting one for our house was posed to me, I wasn't that excited. The practical side of me reminded Kev that it is more cost effective to get a fake tree plus they don't shed! I was talked into one though on the basis that not all real trees create a mess, especially if they are cared for properly. Kevin promised to water it faithfully, and the nice people at the garden shop helped us pick out a good one. I have to admit it turned out to be a beautiful addition to our home for the holidays and hasn't really created much of a mess. Maybe I'm sold on continuing the tradition next year. . . .

Lastly, our Christmas adventures wouldn't be the same without what our friend Bhavik has coined as "The Great Hagan Tour of the South." With our families leaving more than 10+ hours from us, flying to see everyone was a must. Between the Thursday before Christmas to today, we found ourselves in four states other than Maryland seeing my parents, sister, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents and Kev's side as well. The sad part was we didn't get to stay for very long!

Although our visit was short, I enjoyed the Hagans' traditions of the big meal (I love Mrs. Hagan's broccoli casserole) and presents at his parents house. Most of the family was able to join us, including a favorite family member of mine: "Uncle Charlie." He recently lost his wife to cancer and yet is having a grand ole time making new friends at the nursing home. His enthusiasm for life encourages me!

See us all looking pretty below:I am happy to report that we survived managing work schedules, demands on both our families of our time and the craziness of airports without loosing any luggage or having more than 15 minutes or so of delays in flight times! Our first Christmas is complete.

Now it's time for a nap!