We Wish You a Merry Christmas

 

Christmas Playlist 2022

If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you know how I feel about Christmas carols! I even posted my top and bottom 5 carols last week. I love listening to a mix of traditional carols but also finding new songs to enjoy. This year I think I've got a GREAT crop of new favorites. And my definition of 'new' means it's new to me - one song is super old, I've just never heard it before ha.

Under the Mistletoe by Kelly Clarkson & Brett Eldridge

Evermore by Pentatonix {this whole album is awesome}

Thank God It's Christmas by Queen {here's the oldie haha}

Glow by Kelly Clarkson & Chris Stapleton

Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) by Pentatonix

Cozy Little Christmas by Katy Perry

And my absolute new favorite, Merry Christmas by Elton John & Ed Sheeran

Anything new that you're jamming to?

Happy 6th Birthday, Paige Noelle!

Happiest of birthdays to our joyful caboose.

Our family wasn't complete without her.

December 21, 2016 was one of the best days of my life!

I'm so thankful she is our baby.

I'm glad I finally wore Brent down to have a 3rd child! {grin}

She is fun and funny and so happy.

Her personality lights up a room.

She is a big package in a little girl who can't help but make everyone smile.

I can't wait to see what her future holds!

We love you so much, Paigey!

Lasik!

On Friday, I had Lasik! I've worn glasses since the summer before 4th grade and contacts since the summer before 7th grade. Over 30 years of my life I've had poor vision! And it's pretty terrible. 

This was the oldest picture I could find on my laptop of me in glasses.

This has to be college but not totally sure on the year - we'll say 2000?

I wish I had a picture of my first pair of glasses - they were SO ugly!

I've been dreaming of Lasik for a long time, but it always seemed so expensive and there were always better things to do with our money. BUT we changed our insurance in 2022, and I decided to take the plunge. It was kind of a spur of the moment decision to call about a consultation. I talked to the doctor's office on 12/2, had my consultation 12/5, and had the procedure on 12/16!

2009 with baby Trent - gaaaaah!

The whole procedure took 5 minutes, it was crazy how fast it went! It was a pretty intense 5 minutes, but my eyes were numb, and I had Xanax so it could have been worse ha!

Last day with glasses!

By the time we got home, my eyes were burning very badly {to be expected}, and I couldn't even open my eyes. I took my 2nd Xanax, put on an iced eye mask, and went to sleep for 12 hours.

When I woke up Saturday morning, I COULD SEE. There was a little bit of cloudiness {like when my contacts are dirty} and some tenderness but no burning or pain. My eyes are a bit bruised, but it's crazy to be able to see after over 30 years. We had Paige's birthday party on Saturday {pictures to come later this week}, and I was totally fine, yay!

I had a follow-up appointment Monday and my vision is 20/20!!! The cloudiness should clear up within a few weeks {and it's not a big deal at all, just not CRISP}. I keep laughing at myself because I reach for my glasses when I wake up or go to take out my contacts after my shower - old habits die hard I guess!

I'm using antibiotic eyedrops for a week and lubricating drops for months {with decreasing frequency}, but that's it!

I am 100% so so so happy I did this! Brent will probably do it next year - I'm so excited for him!!

#AMonthofFaves: Moments of 2022

Linking up with girlxoxo for an end of year recap I've done the last few years. It is really fun to look back over the year and remember all the adventures we've had. Lots of highs and only a few lows. {grin}

JANUARY

- Drew turned 9!

- We started the year off finishing up our vacation to Ruidoso with some of our very best friends.

FEBRUARY

- It was a pretty normal February, which I can't complain about! We had fun at one of friend's high school basketball games which was a little day trip with the family and our Ruidoso crew.

MARCH

- We enjoyed our spring break with a trip to a zoo with friends.

- Bluebonnets were ON POINT this year! My second favorite time of the year, I just love bluebonnet season.

- We had our annual trip to Dell Match Play!

APRIL

- Maybe a little silly, but Brent and I 'celebrated' being together for 25 years. {He doesn't really count this anniversary, but it's still special to me!}

- We enjoyed Easter with family!

MAY

- I chaperoned Drew's overnight Girl Scouts trip to Sea World! It was such a great experience. I have loved watching her {and now Paige} be involved with Girl Scouts, such a neat organization.

- Brent turned 42!

- Drew became our first kid to break a bone. Womp, womp.

- We survived school and started summer break, yay!

JUNE

- Brent and I got COVID, yuck!

- But we recovered in time for his annual summer work dinner, and we turned it into a great weekend with friends.

- Trent turned THIRTEEN!!!!

- Drew and I finished the Harry Potter series, BIG moment!

JULY

- We went on a fabulous vacation with Brent's family to Napa and drank all the wine.

AUGUST

- I turned 42!

- The kids started school - Trent in 8th grade, Drew in 4th grade, and Paigey started Kindergarten!!!

SEPTEMBER

- We went on another vacation to Hilton Head, SC with friends.

OCTOBER

- Brent and I celebrated 18 years of marriage.

- We enjoyed trick or treating with our friends.

NOVEMBER

- We went on yet another vacation {WHO ARE WE?} to Hawaii with Brent's parents! The trip of a lifetime for sure!!

DECEMBER

- Another successful LJA holiday party is in the books.

We have Paige's birthday to look forward to and Christmas, so 2022 is definitely going to end on a high note. We had an amazing 2022! I love that we had trips in 4 states this year. We stayed mostly healthy, had a lot of fun, and just enjoyed life.

LJA Holiday Party 2022

This past weekend was Brent's company holiday party in Houston. He's worked for his company for 5.5 years, and the holiday party is definitely a highlight for us. {It helps that he works with 2 of his best friends whose wives are 2 of my best friends, so we have a blast together!}

We have started going up to Houston a day early to enjoy some extra time with our friends. We rode up with Riley and Susie and had dinner at a place right by our hotel called The Grotto. It was DELICIOUS. 

Then we met up with some other co-workers who made it into town at the bar in the hotel. We stayed up way too late and possible overserved ourselves. {grin}

Saturday morning, Susie and I went to get our nails down and then met Brent and Riley for brunch. Later in the day we met up with Dez {she and Derek drove into town Saturday afternoon because they had a family birthday party Saturday morning} to get our hair done.

Being dorks because Brent knew it would make me jealous!

Starting brunch off right

Not to be outdone, nails and Starbucks

Berry Mule and a chai

After we got our hair done we went back to the hotel to get ready - it was party time! I tried to get a few pictures to show my hair off, not sure how successful I was. I'm in this awkward phase of growing out my bangs so had the lady do some braids to pull my bangs back. It was a little funky, but I liked it!

The finished product!

I seriously need Mirror Selfie lessons

Ready to party!

Our table of 10 - plus you can see just how many people are there!

We are at the only hotel in Houston that can handle this many people, crazy.

LJA Wives!

We left about 10:00 AM Sunday morning and rode home with Derek and Dez {Riley and Susie had to rush home for one of their son's first band concert!}

I got my snow globe picture with my boo!

{Also I slept in my braids and they were NOT looking very good ha}

The perfect drink trifecta. Water, a coke, and a cocktail.

And it wouldn't be a road trip without me getting some candy.

I also spent $45 on Christmas decorations and stocking stuffers at the gas station, ha.

The kids had a great time with my parents too!

Snuggling with Babs

Making her flower cards with Pops as her helper

My parents' town also did a mini Trail of Lights they all walked Saturday night!

Reading the Sunday comics with Pops

We had a great weekend, and I'm already looking forward to our summer Houston adventure with LJA - I texted Dez and Susie on Sunday night 'So what are we going to wear in June?' HA!

Top 5, Bottom 5: Christmas Songs

I can't believe this is my first Christmas post. I had to get through Hawaii first! {grin} I stole this topic from Mix & Match Mama and thought it was a fun one - my top and bottom 5 Christmas songs!

Let's start with my 5 favorite songs! This was really hard because I LOVE so many Christmas songs! I used to be an extreme traditionalist when it came to carols, but Pandora has shown me the error of my ways over the last handful of years, and now I love a mix of traditional carols and more modern/new songs. So it's not too surprising that my favorites are a mix as well!

5. LOVE IS CHRISTMAS by Sara Bareilles

This song is just so beautiful! I've enjoyed it for years now - yes, it's definitely a new Christmas song, but it is a GREAT song. It's also a very simple song - Sara and a piano!

4. ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS by Mariah Carey 

I read she has made $72M off this song alone. And I'm honestly not surprised! She is {in my opinion} the Queen of Christmas!

3. HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS

There are so many good versions of this song! It's a song that just makes me happy every time I hear it. I especially love Etta James' and Perry Como's versions.

2. THAT'S CHRISTMAS TO ME by Pentatonix 

Gosh I LOVE this song! I've been listening to it for at least 5 years and it is SO good.

1. THE CHRISTMAS SONG

I love just about every version of this song, but my favorite is Nat King Cole's version. To me, this is the epitome of a traditional Christmas carol and the absolute best one!

Now onto my least favorite carols! I can't imagine that people particularly enjoy most of these, and some I don't even know why they were made! But let me know if you disagree, ha.

5. RUN RUDOLPH RUN by Chuck Berry

This just doesn't feel like a Christmas carol, except that it's talking about Rudolph. It just feels like a Chuck Berry rock-and-roll song. It needs to feel like a Christmas carol!

4. ROCKIN' AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE

I think this is a mostly well-loved song...but it drives me bananas. I don't think I typically get sick of Christmas carols, but this is the exception.

3. JINGLE BELL ROCK

Same as #4, this song just annoys me to no end.

2. ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS MY TWO FRONT TEETH

While I must admit, my little kiddo missing her two front teeth right now is super adorable, this song is dumb.

1. I WANT A HIPPOPATAMUS FOR CHRISTMAS

Even dumber than wanting your front teeth is this completely ridiculous song about a hippo. I can't even hear a single note of this song without my head wanting to explode!

Runner-ups:

- The chipmunk Christmas song

- Christmas Shoes - GAG - the most depressing song ever!