Christmas 2013 at Wrightsville Beach, NC

Lots of pictures to tell the story of our memorable first Christmas in North Carolina.  We made the most of our situation, and it was a wonderful vacation from all the stress that surrounded us.  I am sorry it took so long to get this post done. Honestly, I want to remember Christmas, but I felt like I needed some time to

separate the wonderful vacation we had as a family from the heart wrenching chaos of everything else that was going on.  We are so thankful for our Savior who came to this earth and lived His perfect life and sacrificed it willingly to let us come and have this human experience and be able to return to live with Him and our heavenly Father again.  From this experience I have gained a deeper appreciation for the "yoke" that my Savior carries for me, even when I feel like I am carrying more than I can handle.  I am thankful for the family I am blessed with to be with every day that loves me despite my imperfections and makes me happy to be with them and a part of their crazy adventure!!  Merry Christmas and ready to start a new year!!  


                      We arrived late on Monday, December 23, after we found out we weren't closing on our house.  We called the moving truck, told them to put our stuff in storage and headed to the beach.  We decided that if we were going to be in a hotel for Christmas, then we would be in a room with a kitchenette, and a beautiful view.  It was the best decision we could have made, and was a wonderful escape.
On Tuesday, Christmas Eve, we went to the grocery store to get food for the rest of the week, and then went exploring on the beach. It was cold, but sand between your toes is therapeutic, despite freezing water and biting winds.

   

 Kennedy was wearing her jacket, until she got washed up in a wave and went swimming. That's when we decided to head inside and start thinking about how we could make sure Santa could find us...

This was the view out of our room. It was gorgeous, and almost completely deserted for most of the week.

 We came in and got toasty in our "Christmas Cozy" we got for our trip.  Tim helped the girls check Santa's list, whether they were on the naughty or nice list.  We picked up a gingerbread house at the store that morning, so that was fun to assemble and decorate and it made our room smell heavenly for the whole week. Then we found some pretzels, chocolate and peanuts and made some treats for Santa, decorated our little table with our "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree (very appropriate for the occasion).  Then, we did our traditional reading of scriptures and telling the story of Christmas and talking about the birth of our Savior.  It was so sweet to be away from all the distractions of life and just be together with our little family for such a wonderful, humble, holiday.

 

 We had a wonderful dinner of rotisserie chicken, scalloped potatoes, delicious green beans and apple pie. Cranberry ginger ale made it feel extra sparkly and special.

 This was our little dining table with our memorable tree. One ornament and the ornaments the girls had made at school and brought home with them on our drive. We found some stockings at the drugstore and some twinkle lights to make it just right.  It was truly a miracle to just be together and feel peace in our hearts.



Then, on Christmas morning, Santa found us! He must have been tipped off somehow, and the girls were so thankful that he didn't give up despite our sudden wanderings and change of schedule with moving into our house.

This was the pile that was left under the little tree, and the stockings filled up with goodies.  Forgive my poor photos, the excitement was so overwhelming, the girls just were unable to contain themselves!  They each got the dolls they've wanted for SOOO LOOONG!!! 

     

 

 

Kennedy got this game she fell in love with at Gaga and Papa's house in Arizona over Thanksgiving.  I fell in love with playing with her the rest of the week. She is an awesome game player, good sport, and happy kid!

On Thursday, December 26, it was a cold, windy day, so we decided to find something fun to do, and we decided to go to the USS North Carolina Battleship.  The girls were not too impressed at the beginning, but by the end of our tour, they were running around and having lots of fun being curious, even trying their aim at the cranking the big guns.

   

     

     

   

   

On Friday we went out exploring and searching for tide pools, that were just right by our resort.  We stayed at the Shell Island Resort at the end of the road in Wrightsville and it was just beautiful.  The sun had warmed up the sand enough to walk comfortably in the sand.  It was so relaxing.
On Saturday, Tara and Rob came over from Fayetteville for the day and that was so refreshing! We hadn't seen them for over 2 years, and it was just fun to catch up and walk along the beach and spend the day. I took pictures of the sand formations at the tide pools, and we found a beached jelly fish.  We ate the most delicious pizza I'd had in years.  I wish they delivered all the way to Huntersville! I don't even remember the name of the pizza joint, but if we go back, no, WHEN we go back, we'll eat there again.

This is the view again out our window, it was really stormy on Sunday morning when we left, and starting pouring rain about 5 minutes after we got on the road. It hadn't rained all week (blessings!) though it was cold and windy, but at least we could be out on the beach all week.  It was a wonderful week despite our circumstances, and we were so thankful we could go and remember what Christmas is all about together as a family.