The last Christmas as we know it

Christmas 2009. I can only wonder what Christmas 2010 will be like. For over 30 years, our family has been used to me, Temple and Amanda being the babies. And of course the Brannons have been used to Ann-Margaret, Adam, and their cousins being the babies! For 30 years!!! Yes, it took THAT long for us to decide to add on to our family and relinquish our titles as the babies of the family. As each month/week/day passes we get closer and closer to meeting three very special new additions. Adam's cousin Hannah is the first to add to the family with the arrival of her son Henry - due any day now!! Temple and Jonathan will be next to welcome their new baby boy - Reese. He is due February 1 and we can't wait to meet him. Soon after, our little Sarah Beth will come into the world sometime around April 20.

That brings me back to my original thought - Christmas will NEVER be the same again! Our family has traditions just like any other family. We spend Christmas morning with Adam's parents, sister, and brother-in-law. Christmas afternoon and evening are spent with my family - MaMa Miriam, my parents, Aunt Ann & Uncle Ricky, Temple, Amanda and their significant others. Next year there will be two little crawlers bringing much excitement and joy to our Christmas day. Sarah Beth will be around 8 months old and Reese will be around 10 months old! As I look into the future, I try to picture a scene in my mind as if I'm looking in from the outside. I see lots of giggles, tons of smiles, even more love than ever possible, and an all around renewed sense of joy and family.

So yes, this Christmas 2009 may be the last one "as we know it", but I can't say I'm sad. I simply can not wait to see what the future holds. Years and years to come we will have new babies and new traditions. Everyone in our families is so excited and ready to meet the new little ones. So Merry Christmas 2009 and HELLO 2010!!!