Here is Nicholas turning his hands up in mock anger that Parker is taking up all the room on the chaise lounge. I don't get what his problem here is. First off, he got to sit on the chaise lounge, which is the best seat in the house, and one we all fight over when we are home. Its not surprising that Santa left Nicholas's gifts there, since he's the Favorite. Second, she doesn't take up that much room. Third, Nick didn't even get her anything for Christmas, so he's lucky she is even willing to be close to him. Fourth, I know he really loves her and his fussing at her is all for show.
Don't you love his turtleneck and sweater vest? A lot of people saw my Christmas pictures and thought it was nice that our family does an Ugly Chrismtas Sweater theme every year. I'm not sure what they meant by that- this is Nick's actual outfit for Christmas and he got his money's worth from that holly turtleneck this year. I thought we were going to have to hold an intervention. You should see his Easter outfit.
This is Betsy also wearing one of her favorite sweaters, handing out gifts. She did a lovely job of wrapping most of them in those Wal-Mart bags. I'm not complaining though- my present was actually wrapped and I got some lip gloss from Sephora that I've been wanting. Thanks, Future Mrs. Smith! Hopefully, you registered for wrapping paper and tape.
Here I am showing Parker the new toy Santa brought. She liked it much better than the peanut cookie treats He put in her stocking. I'm pretty sure that treat still sitting on the floor where it fell. As you can see, my crutches were never very far from me and my knee brace was super stylish.
All in all, Christmas was pretty good. It was actually very good. I didn't get to see a lot of my other family members this year, it was just the five basic Carr's. And between my knee and the spotty plumbing at the house, it almost didn't seem like Christmas. When I was younger, a Christmas like this, where everything wasn't perfect, would have stressed me out to no end. I'd have spent forever bugging everyone in my family about how to make things be just right on Christmas. I'd have a sick feeling in my stomach the entire time, worrying that a fuss would break out, or the food wouldn't be ready when everyone wanted to eat, or that something else would go wrong. But this year, I kinda knew it was going to be a crazy Christmas. I was barely out from the anesthesia, hobbling along. Any gifts that weren't bought and wrapped by the Wednesday before Christmas were going to stay at the store. I didn't send out Christmas cards. I didn't do my normal baking for everyone I know and love. I didn't even watch Love Actually. Its been so long now, I cannot remember what we ate for Christmas dinner. And thanks to some plumbing issues, showers were few and far between and Christmas Eve was spent at the newly remodeled Mexican place in Newton. By Pinterest standards, it was a disaster.
But, by Carr Family standards, it was pretty great. Obviously, we have much lower standards in our family. I ate plenty of food. I got some great, thoughtful gifts (I'm looking at you, Mom- thanks for the blinged out calculator so I can calculate child support in style). We laughed. We goofed off. There were a few minor fusses, but we got over those in typical Carr Family style- qucikly. We took naps and watched Duck Dynasty (or maybe that was Thanksgiving, who knows. All these knees surgeries and holidays and time spent in Laurel and plumbing problems run together.) We didn't even eat turkey or other holiday-type foods, most of which I dislike. Half the decorations weren't up. Martha Stewart would have fainted into her cranberry and artichoke stuffed organic turkey. But it was just perfect for me. I got to spend time with my five favoritest people in the world. And Nick.
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