Christmas Traditions

 

Merry Christmas, everyone! I was reading my friend Ashley's blog (go check it out, it's adorable)  the other day about Christmas traditions. She talked about how her family doesn't have any real set traditions as far as what they eat, where they are, etc. It got me to thinking about my own Christmas traditions. As a kid, my family had several things we did year after year. We always go to church on Christmas eve. Christmas eve dinner consisted of party foods and hor d'ouvres (sausage balls, raw oysters, peel and eat shrimp, summer sausage, you get the idea) and we'd always play a game. As we got older, we'd stay up late playing intense games of Trivial Pursuit. When we were younger, my mom had no problem getting us to bed. We were the kids who when we were tired we went to sleep. We actually are both still that way. I barely ever make it through a movie! Christmas morning we opened gifts in our pjs, after being woken up at an extremely early hour. Little brother would get us up so early all the presents would be open by 6:30! I'll never forget the year that changed. I was back in Colorado for Christmas and went upstairs Christmas morning to find my parents dressed! In all my life, this had never happened. They told me my brother was still asleep so I could go get ready and then we'd do presents. This was so bizarre to me, but I went ahead and did it. Then I ran in his room and jumped on the bed to wake him up like he used to do to me.Stockings were always opened first. We tried to take turns opening gifts so it lasted longer. Breakfast usually consisted of a breakfast casserole of some sort (after we'd eaten half the candy in our stockings). Christmas dinner (which usually is eaten a few days after Christmas because we're so full from candy and snacks from Christmas eve) is surf and turf. We have prime rib and crab legs. This is probably my favorite tradition!

Another tradition, and probably the longest held, is Christmas pajamas. I have gotten Christmas pajamas on Christmas eve as long as I can remember. My Mawgie started it, and after she passed away my mother continued. Now, the hubby gets them with us.

Wearing our matching pajamas and playing none other than Trivial Pursuit. I remember I won that year!

The first year I brought C home for Christmas. Little brother didn't think he'd like him. He fit right in!

 

And then the tradition continued.

 

My mom will be thrilled to see I'm rocking pajamas from Christmas past.

Lots of found memories of these traditions I partook in for so many years. So, now that I'm married what traditions do we have now? This is only our second married Christmas, so we're still getting used to the fact that we can start our own traditions. Some things are the same as last year, some are different. Both years, we've gone to church where we attend as a married couple. Both years we've spend Christmas eve and Christmas morning just the 2 of us. We go to his parents later in the day. Last year we spend New Year's eve in Colorado and did Christmas with my family the last week of December. This year, my hubby can't get off until the 13th. I will be travelling to CO alone on the first so I can see my brother while he's there. I will just bring C back his presents. The travelling part I know will probably be inconsistent until we have kids. My philosophy is kids should always wake up Christmas day in their own house. We open our stockings first, stay in our pajamas, then eat breakfast. Last year I made pancakes that were dyed green and stacked to look like Christmas trees. This year, I made quiche. Both years, we have watched Christmas movies on Christmas eve. The hubby loves A Christmas Story, which is not one of my faves, but it's been incorporated into the traditions we're creating. I guess when you get married the traditions you start are some from your family, some from theirs and new ones. I know after kids more and more traditions will begin and continue.

Below are two things I've started as my own traditions that I love. The first is the book, Promise Me by Richard Paul Evans. My mom turned me onto this about 4 years ago. I have read it every Christmas since. I know he has other books, I've just never read them. I love this book. Every year I read it the story is so familar, like an old friend. Yet, like a friend I discover something new each time I read it. Yeah, I know that was corny. Anyway, go and read this book. It's a quick read. I can't tell you what it's about without giving too much away. It's very much fiction and would never happen, and that's why I like it.
 

My other favorite tradition is m using my Christmas china. We don't get our Christmas decor out until December 1st. (Hey! I just found another tradition we created.) This year it was even later since I got the stomach bug on December 1st. Ugh. Anyway, the day after Thanksgiving I was going to put up all my regular china from dinner and thought "Why would I go to all this trouble just have to take it down and switch it out with the Christmas in 2 days?" So, that was one decoration that went up early. My pattern (as a simply southern wife, of course I have "my pattern") is Holly, by Lenox. I love how elegant it is. I use it no matter what we're eating. It's meant to be enjoyed! So even if we're eating frozen pizza, I will use the Christmas china. I have also been known to pour a beer in my Waterford. Why not? I love drinking my chai out of one of the pretty mugs. 

What are some of your family's traditions? Does Santa wrap his gifts or bring them unwrapped? (our Santa never wrapped) Do you get dressed before opening gifts? Do you open presents Christmas eve or Christmas day?  Whatever your traditions I hope you all have a very, merry Christmas! Remember: the ultimate tradition is that year after year we can remember God sent His Son to come to earth in human form so He could be the ultimate gift: everlasting life.

Merry Christmas, y'all!

Here are some ghosts from Christmas past:

 

 



The End of an Era

Thursday I said goodbye to my little Escape. I had that car for 8 years. It was good to me for 187,019 miles. Last Sunday on our way home from St. Louis, the AC quit on us. 5 hours in 90 degree heat with no AC is pretty miserable. We had been looking at getting me a new car for awhile now, but this was definitely going to speed up the process. My sweet hubby voluntarily took my car to work all week since I am in my car all day for work and he's not. Wednesday, he got in it to leave and smoke started coming out the vents and then the power steering quit and a horrible noise came on. All at. the. same. time. So, Thursday we sold it. I took Christopher to work and cleaned it out. It was bittersweet. I've seen many major events of my life while driving this car: a cross country move, 2 dogs, numerous road trips, first job out of college, move to Knoxville, move back from Knoxville. As I took off my fake front "BORN2RUN" Jersey license plate (Springsteen reference, I don't run) it felt like the end of an era. I'm glad I wasn't there when it was towed away. I would've cried.

Final goodbye.

 

We went a long way together.

 

She gone.

 

 

Oh, but you know with every end comes a beginning.

 

Hand me those keys!

First major purchase as a married couple!

Meet "Dora." (yes, I know. Original.)

So exciting!! Although the buying process is exhausting, it was  fun. Did mention this is my 4th Ford? We have a thing for Fords in the Heckman family. My dad and brother have F-150s, my mom is on her 3rd Escape and she has a Mustang. They've been good to us, stick with what you know. Can't wait to go exploring! (Again, I know. Original.)

 



 

 

 

 

6 months in...

Back in March, I posted about all the things I was looking forward/anxious about as I became a wife. Well, now that we are 6 months in ( as of today), I thought this would be a perfect time to give an update on how these things have turned out:

1) I no longer (well I can but it would be inconsiderate) get up, turn on all the lights and then blast the stereo or TV so I can hear it while I'm getting ready in the morning. C gets up later than I have to for work. I don't think he'll appreciate this.

I have gotten used to getting ready in a quiet house. I normally let the dogs out, tip toe around and then use the light coming in from the bathroom to see enough where I know what clothes I'm putting on. I know Christopher still wakes up, but at least I don't turn the TV on or all the lights. We have come up with a pretty good arrangement: I take care of the dogs in the am, since C is not a morning person (and by not a morning person, I mean C in the am and C normally is like Dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde). He, in return takes care of them at night. As y'all know I am not a late night person. I normally take a 2 hour nap between 8 and 10 pm. I try to stay up with him, it's just hard!

2) I am used to living alone, so I never close the bathroom door. This isn't something I have to really worry about because I always close it when people are here. Just something I thought of. Oh, and I will never be that person who feels comfortable leaving it open. Gross. Some things should always (and will) remain a mystery.

No problems with this in either part. Thank goodness!

3) I have to live with a boy!!! Ew! Just kidding, I cannot wait to live with him. He's not gross at all, he is very neat and doesn't do gross boy stuff. Unless, he gets comfortable when we get married. Ha.

No surprises, he's still very clean. He doesn't even leave the seat up!

4) Speaking of that, C and I are both very meticulous. This will be interesting, as we both like doing certain things certain ways. For example, I know he likes his tee-shirts folded in a specific way and it is different than how I do it. Like I said, these things will be interesting as we go along.

This has been interesting. I think we've both been good about compromising. He always offers to help me clean, but I prefer to do it myself. Yes, a little because it's getting done MY way but mostly because cleaning is therapeutic for me.

5) Learning that doing things my way isn't always necessarily right. (Whew! That was hard to admit!)

I have definitely learned to adjust to doing some things his way, or just looking at things differently with an open mind. Right now, I ca't think of anything. But I'm pretty sure I have. I'll ask him.

6) I get to come home to him every single day! Can't wait!

I absolutely LOVE this! It is such a joy to come home and tell him about my day and hear about his and just have him around in general. It is so awesome!

7) I get to spend every single holiday with him!

So far, we haven't had any major holidays together. But I am looking forward to our trip to NYC for Thanksgiving.

8) Doing our laundry (I know, that's weird.)

Yeah, not so much. We sometimes do it together sometimes separate. I often times leave things in the dryer or basket for a long time (IHATE putting laundry away!), this bothers Christopher because his stuff gets wrinkled. I say "so what? We have an iron." Anyway, I sometimes do his, but sometimes he goes ahead and just does his own when he needs it done.

9) I look forward to seeing his glasses on the bathroom counter.

Or on the nightstand. I mostly prefer when he wears them, he looks freaking adorable!

10) Starting new traditions together.

Again, this will be more so when the holidays come around.

11) Sharing the same last name.

LOVE my last name! I love saying "The Wilsons." Although, I've forgotten a few times and said Heckman, the people at work still call me Heckman. Old habits die hard!

12) Vacations together, starting with our honeymoon to Jamaica. SO EXCITED!

Honeymoon was fantastic! We are so much alike in our travel style. We both want tondo and try everything, and aren't happy to just hang out in the room. We also got to go to Florida with some friends for Labor Day and to St. Louis in July. We're looking forward to NYC and then CO for NYE.

13) Having our home together.

Love, love, love our home! We have gotten all our projects done and it definitely feels like "ours."

It's been a great 6 months and I can't wait to see how the rest of our first year plays out!

Proverbs 31

I will post more on this later, but I ran across these 2 articles today and found them to be very thought provoking.

http://bernice770.wordpress.com/proverbs-31-woman/

http://voices.yahoo.com/christian-women-proverbs-31-wife-a-3936008.html?cat=41

Here's our version of "American Gothic:'

Similar, no?

Spoiling My Husband

I spoil my husband. I know this. I have had more fun making him dinner every night. Here are some of the things we've had so far since getting married:

Chicken fried rice (made in one of the fabulous new skillets my in-laws gave us at a shower)

Minute steaks and fried corn (made in my great-grandmother's iron skillet, talk about a well-seasoned skillet!)

Bourbon glazed salmon and parmesan vegetables (thanks, Pinterest!)
Who says it has to be a special occsion to eat on good china? And don't you love how I'm drinking Crystal Light out of Waterford? (Thank you, Allyson!)

Crock pot chicken (again, thanks Pinterest!)

And this is my battle wound from making chicken parmesan. When I was switching out pieces, the hot grease splattered on my arm. Needless to say, it did not feel good. However, my hubby would make a great doctor. He took care of me.

So, yes. I am having fun spoiling Christopher and making him dinner every night. Okay, not every night but I'd say at least 4-5 nights a week. Last night, I cheated and we ate a Hot n Ready and watched the Grizz. (What a game! Nail biter!) Again, I would be perfectly happy to stay home all day, make dinners and clean house and make crafts.  Gloria Steinem, forgive me.

New name, new blog!

Welcome to the new blog! I decided that I needed a new look to go with the new chapter in my life. I have had more fun picking out china patterns, stationery, making yummy dinners for my hubby and basically trying to live the life of a 1950's housewife. Combine that with my love of all things Southern and boom! A blog is born! A big shout out to Miss Nikki AKA (The Fashionable Wife) over at Delightful Designs for designing it for me. She is uber talented and does fabulous work. Not only does she design blogs, but stationery, business cards, invitations, etc. She did our save the dates, rehearsal dinner invitations and bridesmaid brunch invitations. Go check her out!So look forward to posts about my life as a newlywed and how I will try to keep etiquette and tradition alive in a world where people send Evites and thank yous via Facebook.
Here's how we spent the first week of marriage:

Stay tuned!

Becoming a Wife... The Lighter Side

I realize my last post was pretty heavy. So hear are some things I have to get used/change/look forward to when I get married that are a lot more light-hearted:

1) I no longer (well I can but it would be inconsiderate) get up, turn on all the lights and then blast the stereo or TV so I can hear it while I'm getting ready in the morning. C gets up later than I have to for work. I don't think he'll appreciate this.

2) I am used to living alone, so I never close the bathroom door. This isn't something I have to really worry about because I always close it when people are here. Just something I thought of. Oh, and I will never be that person who feels comfortable leaving it open. Gross. Some things should always (and will) remain a mystery.

3) I have to live with a boy!!! Ew! Just kidding, I cannot wait to live with him. He's not gross at all, he is very neat and doesn't do gross boy stuff. Unless, he gets comfortable when we get married. Ha.

4) Speaking of that, C and I are both very meticulous. This will be interesting, as we both like doing certain things certain ways. For example, I know he likes his tee-shirts folded in a specific way and it is different than how I do it. Like I said, these things will be interesting as we go along.

5) Learning that doing things my way isn't always necessarily right. (Whew! That was hard to admit!)

6) I get to come home to him every single day! Can't wait!

7) I get to spend every single holiday with him!

8) Doing our laundry (I know, that's weird.)

9) I look forward to seeing his glasses on the bathroom counter.

10) Starting new traditions together.

11) Sharing the same last name.

12) Vacations together, starting with our honeymoon to Jamaica. SO EXCITED!

13) Having our home together.

Here's a little bit of what we've been doing on the house. I promise I will put up more pictures soon.

Becoming a Wife

Note: Christopher e-mailed me at work yesterday and said he missed reading my blog. This made me smile. It's nice to know my soon-to-be hubby reads my silly little blog.

Speaking of my soon-to-be hubby, I am going to be married in 6 weeks!!! As of tomorrow, I can say my wedding is next month. I have tried not to make my blog all about my wedding, and as you can tell from the lack of blogging, I have been way too busy to post anything!

My friend Leslie over at Sharp Stick in the Eye posted about having good intentions when it becomes to being a mommy. She has a really sweet baby, Juliette. Be sure to go and read her blog and check out the cute pics of "Jules" as she calls her. ANYWAY, Leslie wrote about being in adequate and that the truth is she it and she needs Jesus and grace. Don't we all?

It got me to thinking about my good intentions of being a wife. I don't always have groceries in the house, sometimes I want a bowl of cereal for dinner. If I don't always have a home-cooked dinner on the table does that make me a bad wife? In my mind, it does although I know it doesn't and he doesn't care. I have a kitchen cabinets that need to get cleaned out, that I haven't found time. My pantry needs to be organized. I still have Christmas decorations I just put in the closet because I forgot to put them up with the boxes. I have good intentions of reading my Bible more and Facebooking and Pinteresting less. The point of all this is that I absolutely agree with Leslie. None of this matters. We all need Jesus and grace and the Holy Spirit to guide us. I am inadequate but Jesus loves me inspite of this. Christopher and I have already started to make a conscious effort to have a God-first marriage. This excites me about becoming a wife.

Sorry for such a deep post. Just been thinking about this a lot lately, and after reading Leslie's post I see I'm not the only one who wrestles with this.