Christmas 2006, waiting for Kylie Grace

The birthday celebration for Jesus and the joy of giving were enjoyed in Atlanta for the short time Brad was able to get away from work. I spent the days before Christmas preparing and seeing loved ones, but worried about Brad being under so much pressure to get all the houses closed before the end of the year. I can talk about it now, because his "year" was over yesterday, and the three houses scheduled to close yesterday, did in fact, close yesterday. Whew. My last client of the year that was scheduled to close, also closed on time and without incident. All is well. I can breathe!

MiMi, Brad, and I made it to the candlelight service at church on Christmas Eve. Keeping the season in perspective, after all the crazy hustle and bustle to plan the perfect Christmas day for those we love, is best complete with gathering at church with those who share the appreciation of it all. We can never top the greatest gift of all, and through the service, as I reflected on the story of the birth of Jesus, I was quite humbled and thankful for so many things. And so, I cried, imagine that:) I can't even begin to list ALL of the blessings I am thankful for, because I will surely leave one out. But, I will say that I am so thankful for my renewed relationship with God, the family and friends that we have, our health, and the gift of our adoption journey to Kylie Grace.

Brad fell asleep rather early, so it made putting his stocking together with Santa quite easy. I always have so much fun with this, because Brad is just like a little kid when he sees everything laying out...he goes through his stuff just like I remember I did when I was little. Santa brought the perfect gifts for such a good boy :)

Since Brad and I spent the night at his Mom's, we started the day with a yummy breakfast and exchanged our gifts. Casey and Zoe (our boxer and Dobie) had to stay behind in Tampa, which we really hated, but we saved their gifts for them, of course. Josie (our Westie) was with us, and we gave her two of her favorites..those crazy dogs from Petsmart, you know the ones... from the commercial where the wiener doggy gets scanned at the register with his toy because he won't let it go. Yep, those are the ones. She really, really loves them, but they don't last long because she is the expert at getting the squeaky's out, and then comes the stuffing all over the floor.

I went and picked up my Mom, and Julie, Clark, and Cole came over to Paula's for the rest of the morning and the afternoon.

Daddy gave me the sewing machine I wanted for my new hobby - quilting. And I had an Annie Moller GA bulldog painting signed and framed for Daddy. Those were the big surprises. We shared others, too, and with lots of love. From Kylie Grace, Daddy got a plaque for her room that said "My Prince has come, and his name is Daddy". And from Kylie Grace, Daddy gave me a plate that was painted with a little dress and the verse " We prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted what we asked of Him." Both for her room. I also made ornaments for our family and closest friends that had "Waiting for Kylie Grace, 2006" painted on them with red ribbon (lots of fun, by the way, and we'll have them forever!)

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