Christmas!!!!

Wow! What a crazy week it was :) J, K and I headed down to Louisiana last Thursday for Christmas with the Cajuns. We rolled into town early enough Thursday night that Billy's was still open and we were able to stock up on boudin balls and cracklins!

K is convinced I should have been born Cajun and now his family is convinced J may have been born in the wrong state too:

He was given his very own "Honorary Cajun" coffee mug too.
We spent the day with the family Friday. Some of us prepped the wild animals for a gumbo:

Some of us roasted marshmallows:

Some of us got hugs from a sweet puppy named Roux:

Some of us enjoyed a few cocktails by the fire:

Some of us messed with the Elf on the Shelf:

And all of us ate and ate and ate and opened presents:

Everyone was happy with what they got except the sugar body scrub recipient:

Friday night was Dirty Santa night with all of Betty's family and then we woke up early Saturday morning and had Christmas with just Dale, Betty, Kyle, Kristina, Ryan, Mallory, AC, MK, J, K and I. We chose to do it so early so everyone could be together opening presents before we had to hit the road to get back to Tennessee. It was a change of pace getting up at the crack of dawn and going hog crazy opening presents but I liked it.

We were back on the road before 10am and made it home in time for me to do all of my cooking for Christmas lunch at mom's and to enjoy a present too!

I've wanted one of these for a while :)))) We cooked out burgers, drank some Sweet Lucy, listened to some music and let J talk us into opening a present too.

Sunday morning, we woke up and opened MORE presents:

J had a HUGE Christmas this year! Tons of Alabama gear, hunting gear, money, an Xbox, a hog hunting trip.......He has no idea how blessed he really is. After presents, we had a Cajun breakfast of boudin balls and eggs (Yes I made K stop at Billy's on the way home and pick up a dozen to bring home!) We then headed to church, where Rufus did a sermon on Joseph and how he is the invisible man of Christmas and was given no glory in the whole story, was asked to be shamed and ridiculed for what was going on with Mary, was asked to leave his hometown and go to another country for the safety of a baby that was not his but he did it all because he trusted God's word. Christmas lunch was at mom's and the kids got to open more presents.

After all of the festivities were over, I figured out how to use the timer on my camera and therefore was able to make it into a picture too!

It was a very busy and hectic year but it was a really good one!