Alabama Christmas...

We packed our bags, loaded up the car, and embarked on a long drive December 20 that ended around 2 am December 21 when we finally reached our destination.  My sister's house.  It was well worth the drive from our small Ohio farm to her home in Alabama.

Two words.  No.  Snow. 

It was awesome.

 

When we had finally made that crossing after seemingly hours of never ending driving from Tennessee into Alabama, I cried.  I was tossed into a tempest of emotion that I can't fully put into words.  

 

I got my wish.  Christmas.  With my sister.  

 

There was of course other family, my step mom, whom I've always referred to as "Mama", her boyfriend, my brother in law, my sister in law, and all of our children.  Eleven of the 14 grands to be exact. 

 

That's a lot of kids!!

 



 

The end of our visit, and prepping to come home, was bittersweet.  We both knew we'd had our visit out, and were both ready for a bit of normal, but we also knew our leaving marked the beginning of an unknown length of time until the next visit.

 

We didn't squander our time together.  We cooked, we cleaned, we chased kids, we shopped, we exchanged gifts, memories, we laughed, we cried, and we said our goodbyes, promising eachother and ourselves that it would not be another 10 years.

 

More posts of our Alabama Christmas to come. 

Happy New Year!