David and I love Christmas, and it makes it that much sweeter when we get to be back in Missouri and celebrate the holiday with our family and friends. David also loves that fact that it's pretty much a gift-giving and opening melee.
On Christmas Eve, we always go over to the Hackers for their annual Christmas Open House. I don't really remember ever not going. So, we do that in the afternoon, and I get to catch up with all of my parents friends, many who happen to be teachers of mine from high school. There is always good food and good times there, with people constantly coming in and out, but all of them making sure they stop by the Hacker's at some point during the day.
After the Hacker's we headed to Mass and then to my grandma's. All of my dad's side of the family is there, and we eat some more and then exchange presents with them. It's funny because my grandma is always telling people she receives too many gifts, and we always tell her she deserves them for all that she does. After spending time with family, we headed back to my parents' to finish wrapping presents and head to bed.
The next morning, we opened our stockings (always first), and unwrapped our ornaments from my mom and dad. My mom has given us each an ornament since we were born. Now that David and Truman are part of the family, they both get one, too. David and I end up with at least 3 new ornaments each year, plus the ones we give to each other (we want to continue the tradition in our family). Then we sat down for a scrumptious breakfast made by my mom: breakfast casserole, overnight caramel rolls, and fruit. Yummy!
We exchanged gifts with my family and then headed to Marthasville for the Bunge Christmas at his grandma's. The entire Bunge family gets together there every year. I think there are 23 of us, now. We had a nice big meal with brisket and ham. Then we exchanged presents (3rd time, if you're counting) and afterward David's cousins put on a sing-and-dance routine for us. They are extremely talented. I'm going to post the video at the end of my ramblings.
After all was said and done, we headed back to Mexico for Bunge Christmas at David's mom and dad's. This was gift exchange numero cuatro. Ridiculous! It was a lot of fun, but we were pooped at the end of the night and ready for bed. What an awesome day. Truman got himself a good bounty as well with toys and treats. We're not sure what we're going to do when we have children. We will definitely have to put a limit on gifts. Otherwise we will not be able to fit everyone and thing in the car on the way home. We barely achieved that this year.
We were so happy and blessed to spend time with our families, and that's what really mattered. The gifts are just a little bonus tossed in. We certainly don't make the long trip back for gifts. Christmas is always a special time, and this year was no exception. So, that happened...
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