A Very Merry Christmas

As all Christmas' do, this one came and went so fast. I anxiously awaited all of the excitement that comes with this time of year. Especially since it was our first time getting to share it with our greatest gift of all: our sweet little Gavin.

We spent the holidays in Florida with my family. Since we were flying, we went ahead and had our little Mihalek Christmas here the day before we left. Gavin had lots of presents from NeeNee and PP. And as a true testament to the fact that we are a perfect couple, Chad and I discovered that we bought each other the exact same thing for Christmas: the Xbox Kinect. (We hooked it up when we got home and that thing is AWESOME!)

Whoa! Big present from NeeNee and PP!

The bows are the best part

Having all kinds of fun with his new toys

On the morning of Christmas Eve, we loaded everything up and headed to the airport. I have to say that I was a bit nervous flying on Christmas Eve. I thought the airports would be crazy and people would be everywhere. I was pleasantly surprised to find the airport not overly packed and all of our planes were on time. The only incident we had was a slight, and I use that word lightly, accident 10 minutes away from landing in Panama City. Let's just say it involved some clean up of the airplane floor and Gavin being wrapped in Daddy's jacket because Mommy didn't bring any extra clothes on the plane. I will NOT make that mistake again. But we all got there in one piece and on time so no complaints here.

Christmas morning was so special. I not only got to spend it with my husband and son but my parents, my brother and my Grammie were all there too. What more could a girl want?? Gavin of course cared way more about the wrapping and bows than anything they were holding. Oh the innocence of an infant!

What did Santa bring??

Those blue eyes were my favorite present

As you can see, he was completely spoiled by Nana and Papa and Grammie!

Christmas night we went over to my Uncle Lynn and Aunt Kelly's. This is my dad's brother's family and we have been a small but close little clan. However, over the years, we have started to grow and we actually had to have two big tables to hold everyone for dinner! We were able to get us all together and somewhat looking good for a quick few photos.

The Rogers clan

This trip was such a quick one. With the holidays and everyone having plans here and there, it was so difficult to get to see everyone. So I had a party at Mom and Dad's new outdoor kitchen to watch the FSU bowl game. It was so much fun and I enjoyed getting to see everyone. Thankfully FSU squeeked out a win to end their season. (I gathered everyone together to get a picture and my sweet 84 year old grandmother did her best to figure out how to use the camera. I have to say she did a pretty good job.)

If a person's worth is measured by their friends then I am a very rich soul.

My pretty near perfect family

Our trip seemed to go by so quickly. I felt like I never got to spend time with anyone. But I am truly thankful for the time I was given. I hope that the next visit will allow me more time to spend with my friends and of course I can never get enough time in with my family. We made it home with no accidents and the weather was just as cold as we left it. Poor Pearl (my car) was frozen solid and in dire need of a bath. We are glad to be home and settled back into a schedule. It is so nice to travel but there is nothing quite like the warmth of your home and the fluff of your pillow.

I hope that each and every one of you has a wonderful 2012. May it be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some good books and kiss someone who thinks you are wonderful. I hope you create some art or write or live as only you can. And somewhere in this coming year, I hope you surprise yourself. And if you do all of these things or even one of them, I hope you share it with me. Happy New Year.