A Serendipitous Christmas!

Now for part two of my Christmas trilogy--Christmas Day!

Christmas Day of present time greatly differs from when I was younger. In my younger years, I was up at what seemed like the crack of dawn (only about 7:30 really) and I was ready to open some presents! I was excited about seeing the letter from Santa Claus, and I was excited about the entire day in general. Also, we would go to my Mimi's house later in the day, which I also loved. Of course, it was also different in the fact that my sisters were here with my parents and I, and it was a huge family event. Now, Christmas Day is vastly different. The mornings are lazy and relaxed, and my parents and I both sleep in as much as possible. Since we usually have Christmas on a day separate from Christmas, although I have the option to do otherwise, I usually hold off on opening any presents until we have our big Christmas. As I explained about Christmas Eve, we no longer go to my Mimi's house on Christmas Day. And finally, my sisters have their own families, homes, and, of course, celebrations.

This year, I ambled out of bed around 9:15 (I like to sleep in, you know) and my mom told me that if I would get dressed, Gina invited us over to have some homemade cinnamon rolls. I, being the cinnamon roll connoisseur that I am, jumped at the opportunity. I got ready quickly, and we headed over to Gina's house.

Before we went to Gina's house, however, we stopped off at Scotty & Emily's house to drop off a present for Scotty's parents, and to see Cody and Kyle. We were greeted by Cody, who was showing off his new Nerf dart gun, and Kyle, who offered us some of his stocking candy. They were EXCITED! The boys got all kinds of cool gadgets and gizmos. They got books, clothes, snow boots, and all kinds of Crayola Color Wonder products, which I still find to be amazing! They proudly showed off all of their new goods. They were full of chatter and joy. They also gave me ornaments that they colored themselves; I got two angels that I plan on laminating and stringing with ribbon at a later date. After we chatted for a while, we headed over to Gina's house. (For those of you who don't know, Emily and Gina only live about 100 feet from each other.)

As we entered Gina's house, I was greeted by the sounds of children enjoying their Christmas presents. Wyatt was quite jubilant because he got the Batman Batcave that he asked for from Santa. He was very proud of it, and he showed it off to everybody! Andrew was just toddling around, taking everything in and adding his little comments. I enjoyed the cinnamon rolls so much! They were amazing! Later, Gina & Andrew showed me what Andrew got from Santa. He got a cute little 3-wheeled Big Wheel toy that is just his size. He was still figuring out how it worked exactly, but he absolutely loved it! I happened to receive a present from Jeremy's parents. Jeremy's mom, who is an avid crafter/seamstress, embroidered my name and a cute little butterfly design onto a blanket, which I just loved because I am always cold, and now I have my OWN blanket...it even has my name on it to say so!

Although we didn't plan on it, my parents and I ended up staying for lunch, at Gina's request. While we were waiting for lunch to be ready, my dad, Jeremy, and Jeremy's dad all came back to my house to begin preparing the pork loin for tomorrow's dinner. All of the women and children stayed at the house. Jeremy's Grandma Millie entertained us with her lovely accordion music, Wyatt and his cousin Zoey enjoyed their new toys, and Andrew happened to sneak in a nap. Our lunch was fantastic; we had roast beef, potatoes, carrots, salad, and crescent rolls, with three pies to choose from for dessert. At the end of the meal, we were all stuffed!

After lunch, everyone eventually settled into the living to relax. I happened to catch a small nap somewhere in there. (I got to use my new blanket!) Unfortunately, I had to leave just as I got comfy, which is inevitably how it happens. My mom reminded me that I still had to make a turtle cheesecake. (It was supposed to be one plain, and one turtle cheesecake, but since we still had gobs of plain cheesecake pie left over, I didn't see the sense in making another plain one, but Gina had her heart set on a turtle cheesecake, and I planned to deliver on my original promise, so I promised that I would still make a turtle cheesecake just for her.) I was still just a little bit grumpy from having to leave my warm perch on Gina's love seat, but what had to be done, had to be done.

It took a while for me to get things together, but eventually, I settled in and started on the crust. I only had the first ingredient in the bowl when I heard a knock at the door. I had no clue who it was, and I thought that it might have been Jeremy. My dad answered the door, as I came around the corner from the kitchen, and I couldn't believe who was at the door! Of all people in the world, it was Tevis, who came to give me my Christmas present!!!!!! I was absolutely stunned!!! I had no idea that he was coming over, and I was almost brought to tears! I could not believe what had just happened, and I was on Cloud Nine. He got me a wonderful-smelling perfume, but I considered the real present as getting to see him! I just loved the fact that he came over unexpectedly, to my house, of all places, (it's not like it's just down the street) just to give me my present, and on Christmas Day, of all days! It made my already great day fantastic! He was able to stay for a while, so I invited him in to watch me as I made my cheesecake. He ended up helping me make it, and he was a big help! I think he knows his way around the kitchen quite well, which I just love! While we were waiting for the crust to cool and the cream cheese to soften, we went over to Gina's (we would've gone to see Emily, but she was still at her in-laws' house, and she missed out on the fun. She did talk to Tevis on the phone, though). While we were at Gina's, Wyatt used Tevis as yet another opportunity to show off his Batcave. After we came back from Gina's, he helped me with the rest of the cheesecake. Before it was completely finished, he had to leave, so he didn't get to see the end product, which turned out nicely, if I must say so myself! Fingers crossed that it will taste as good as it looks!

When I woke up, I had no idea that I would do half of the things that I did today, but I love days like that! Every little thing that happened today was serendipitous. My definition of serendipity is an unexpected turn of events that positively affects my day. Little things that you never see coming that take your breath away, put a smile on your face, or just make your day fantastic! Today was one of the best Christmases that I have ever had, hands down.

I hope that everyone else had a wonderful Christmas, and was able to find a little bit of serendipity in their day!