Four Christmases

I think there is a movie called Four Christmases...I've never seen it before but I can now say I have lived it!

For those who don't know, Erik and I are both from divorced families.  Thus, between the two of us we have 8 parents, and basically 20 siblings (if you count in-laws ad practically in-laws). Want to hear the craziest part? We still have 8 siblings that are not seriously dating or married.  That is A LOT of possible siblings :-)!

Anyways, to get past the ranting about how big our family is and on to the blog post itself, Erik and I (mostly me) made the decision that we would see all four families on christmas.  We only ended up making it to 3/4 but we spent a good amount of time with the fourth during their family christmas party the Sunday before Christmas.

Christmas One 

On the Sunday before Christmas we went to Erik's dad's house for their family Christmas party.  It was a ton of fun.  Each of the married couples had to bring a stocking filled with "Christmas Cheer" to give another couple.  Erik and I decided we were going to be incredibly funny and filled our stocking with a couple goldfish, a goldfish tank, and some food.  I am pretty sure our niece loved it, but her parents probably would've been happier with something else (love you Ashlee!) We had a blast, and we are totally buying me something awesome with our Christmas money :-)!

Erik's mom, being an incredibly detailed party planner, asked Erik to dress up, pop out of a box, and dance to Santa Baby as a "gift" to the family.  It was hilarious! Here are pictures and a video!

Christmas Two

We spent our second Christmas (Christmas morning) with my mommy (sadly I didn't take any pictures from my mom's or my dad's christmas's and no one has posted some on Facebook for me to steal yet!) It was a lot of fun to spend time with all the family.  We of course had a ton of delicious food and just relaxed and played around.  Mason and I got into an intense competition on SongPop.  For those of you who don't know it is an app where you have to try to figure out the songs that are playing faster than the other person. He usually kicks my butt unless Erik is helping me.  I don't think anyone could beat Erik if he played :-)! My mommy gave me an awesome face cleaning brush that I have wanted FOREVER and Erik got an electric razor (Thank goodness! Now he will stop using mine to shave!)

Christmas Three

After spending the morning with my mom, we headed up to my dad's house.  Erik and I brought our Wii U down to play, and after opening presents we played a little Wii U with the family while my dad and Mason set up his new dart board.  After that we sat around, ate, played a little darts, and just enjoyed one another's company.  It was a lot of fun. One of my favorite things in the world is just being able to spend time with family.  Especially when it involves food.  I missed out on the puzzle this year (every year my dad's family does a puzzle), but the time I got to spend with them was wonderful!!

We got a great gift from my daddy.  A propane stove for our emergency preparedness stuff.  It is going to be wonderful to have!

Christmas Four

Erik and I made it down to Fairview to see his mom for Christmas this year.  It was a lot of fun.  We don't get to see his mom very often so it was nice to be able to go and see them.  We ate food, talked, and opened presents.  Erik's mom made everyone some adorable crocheted slippers, and we really enjoyed being able to spend time.  Thankfully it didn't snow on our drive down there or back, and it was a wonderful evening.

Overall it was a packed and busy Christmas but highly enjoyable.  We had plenty of other parties for work, extended family, etc. that we really enjoyed too.  I must say that I had a wonderful first Christmas with my husband and I look forward to many many more.  Next Christmas, I think we might not try and do all four, but rather spend a lot of quality time with two and then spend time with the other two the next year.  I guess we will just have to wait and see what next year holds!

Side Note:

These are the icicles on my cute little apartment! I seriously adore them! They are so long right now that I have to duck to get into the house! It makes it feel like I live in a gingerbread house or something!

Recent Happenings

I don't think I could count the number of times I have attempted to maintain a blog, but I guess right now is as good a time as any.  I mean, who wants to actually study for a final when you can distract yourself by every other possible means out there :-)! You can only read the same posts on Facebook, and look at the same pictures on Pinterest so many times before it's time to find something else to do! So here is my latest attempt.  I will start blogging now!

Life has been all over the place! I cannot even believe I have been married almost six months! Truly time just seems to be in fast forward most of the time.  I have been working and going to school, and Erik has been working-a lot!  I recently had a cornea transplant (I will explain more if you dare keep reading), and have been getting ready for Erik and I's first Christmas!  Life is so much fun! I am having a blast!

The Cornea Transplant

I have a condition called Keratoconus. Basically my cornea is too thin and can't hold it's shape correctly. Instead of being round, it goes into a cone shape. If you want some more information (it's actually pretty interesting) here is a good http://www.nkcf.org.  They usually treat Keratoconus by using hard contacts.  The contacts push the cornea into a normal shape and make it so you can actually.  Well extremely long story short, my eyes decided that they didn't want to wear hard contacts anymore. The next option is some lens like thing they put in they eye, but my condition was too severe so I had a cornea transplant.  Here are some pictures from the experience!

 Before and After Shot.  The halo you can see in the eye is the new cornea.  There are also 20 stitches that you can't see.

Overall, the healing process is going very well.  Though the first week was awful, I am feeling really good now and only have problems with pain sometimes.  It'll be about a year before it is all healed and done, but I am grateful to have been blessed enough to live in a time when medical technology allows for this.  Additionally, I am so deeply grateful for the individual who donated to me.  It is sometimes a bittersweet feeling that I have been blessed with better vision, and the ability to see while someone has just lost someone they loved.  I am grateful for the plan of salvation and that I know whoever has donated has returned to meet Heavenly Father.  It is a beautiful plan.

Christmastime!

I love Christmas! It is so strange not being at home, and having my own little place to decorate.  At first I wasn't going to decorate.  We have a pretty small (though adorable) apartment and I just didn't think it could work.  Well, in the end I gave in.  My daddy let me borrow one of the small trees he had tucked away int he attic, and I pulled out all my decorations (Thank you Grandma)!  I really love having a Christmas tree in our home and seeing it all lit up and decorated.  It really makes it feel more like Christmas! Now if only it would snow! Here are some pictures of my Christmas decorations!

Well, maybe I will try to keep posting in this blog!  At least anyone who reads it gets to have a small glimpse into what I've been doing!  Have a Merry Christmas!!!