The last few days of our time in Odessa was spent with the Dunaways, Stephanie's family. This time included Christmas Day, so we also enjoyed our own Hardy family Christmas traditions at the same time.
I can't believe I didn't get pics of the annual Hardy Christmas Crab Boil. This Christmas Eve feast, courtesy of Daniel, was an event we were obviously occupied too much with to take photos. There were crab legs and shrimp and potatoes and corn cobs. It was so, so, yummy. But, I will admit that the seafood was a bit harder to procure in the desert of West Texas than we've previously experienced in Charleston.
Christmas Day was not a sign of the RecessMas that the media has been fear mongering so viciously. It was truly a blessed Christmas for us, that we enjoyed so much.
The kids had fun climbing into their new sleeping bags with built in air mattresses. Little do they know, it's all part of our plan to make them sleep on the floor when company comes from now on...
It was a bit upsetting for Daniel to see, but Cooper enjoyed being Abigail's first client in her new hair salon chair. He sat there patiently enjoying primping from his sister.
The bouncy ball from Gran was also a big hit, but it's probably more fun for us to watch him fall from it any time someone lets go of him.
Obviously, Daniel was jealous and made his own dress-up outfit from his new life-jacket (to be used with his new kayak) and his helmet (to be used with his new welder) and his new spotlight (to be used to find stray glass in future glasseroles, i.e. Thanksgiving).
From all his loot, Cooper was most taken with the set of Caterpillar trucks Grandad gave him. Unfortunately for Grandad, Cooper seemed to think Grandad was a perfect track for his trucks.
Of course, there were diamonds and shoes and clothes and much more more to fill the day. But, really it was such a treat to be with family. It was the first Christmas in quite a few years that Daniel and I were in Odessa over the holidays and able to share the time with both sides of our families. The chance to be together and easily travel to see them was the best part of the holiday season this year. In many ways, the blessings we've been gathering all year came together to create a very blessed time for us. We continue to see how fortunate we are that God made a way for us to live in Texas and raise the kids so close to our families. We truly mean it when we say, "Thank the Lord!"
4 comments:
u totally forgot to mention that hardy got over 30 flashlights from everyone haha including mimi!! we will be glassorole safe i do believe.. haha yeah right like he wont lose them..
So much fun. Wish we could have been there at the same time. But I assure you....the kids had so much fun together. They just played and played and played.
Oh I forgot the funniest part....You know Ashlee still has the birthmark on her back. Big red hemangioma. It's smaller, but still there. Anyway, Kelly put them all in the bath one night and we were all running around and I heard Abigail say "Well, you have a boob on your back but it's ok!" I was laughing so hard. I'd never thought of it that way before but I guess to her that is what it would look like.
That's too funny! Abigail is very matter of fact about boobs. One day at the pool she said a lady's boobs looked like watermelons. Oy vey!
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