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Christmas Greetings!

Greetings and Merry Christmas! I couldn’t let the day go by without popping in to say hi and spread some Christmas cheer.

As usual, I’m up before the rest of my house, sitting here drinking coffee by the light of the Christmas tree. I still have to play Santa and get the kids’ stockings ready, but they won’t be up until at least 9AM.

Yesterday was a little nuts. I overslept, which is weird for me. And I totally meant to post, but I didn’t have anything prepared, so I had to start from scratch.

When my post was almost done, two of my son’s friends (who had been sleeping over) got up and came downstairs, so I went out to the kitchen to have coffee and chat with them.

The next thing I knew, I got a call from one of my girlfriends, asking me if I was ready to get picked up for lunch. I have a small group of close friends, and we usually do lunch on Christmas Eve and exchange gifts.

Well, I had totally forgotten about it, and I was still in my pajamas! I have never gotten ready so fast. I didn’t even brush my hair, but I did put on makeup and a cute outfit in record time.

After that, I went right over to the grocery store to get what I needed for today’s meals, and then the day was shot. So, no post yesterday! Sorry about that. I was excited about that post, too — I’m rounding up my favorite outfits from the year.

It’s way too much to digest on a day you should be spending with family and friends, so I decided to hold off for a few days, even if I have to double post one day later this week.

Last night was our Christmas Eve/C’s 17th birthday celebration. We went out for sushi (our tradition) and then came back home to have her presents.

She opted NOT to have a cake this year… I don’t know how we’re related. She called me yesterday when I was at the grocery store and told me not to make one, she wasn’t in the mood. Oooookay!

So we just watched Elf, and a few Christmas episodes of The Office, and called it a night.

It was just the girls and me. Paul was feeling under the weather and went up to bed right after presents, and D wasn’t in the mood to watch Elf for the 55th time, so he retired to his room with his PS4.

I’m hoping Paul feels better today. It stinks to be sick on Christmas, but this happens to him more years than not. I think he lets down his guard because he’s not working, and his immune system decides to take a break as well.

We’re looking forward to a leisurely Christmas Day here at home. It’s just the 5 of us, so we’re going to take it easy.

C made homemade cinnamon rolls that we’ll pop in the oven after the kids open their stockings, and I’m going to try making this breakfast casserole.

After breakfast, we’ll take our time opening presents, and then I have some appetizers to set out while we watch the Sixers game.

I’ll grill steaks for dinner tonight, and I’m trying another new recipe — Ina Garten’s spinach gratin. I also have mashed potatoes and an arugula salad, and C made dinner rolls. So yeah, we will probably need to be rolled upstairs to bed after that!

I also wanted to share our family Christmas card with you. We used this picture from my nephew’s wedding, and I think they turned out pretty good. It’s not a perfectly posed professional shot, but I like how it captures us.

In all the hustle and bustle, I’m trying to take some quiet moments to soak in the season and focus on why we celebrate Christmas.

While it’s fun to open gifts and enjoy our families and good food and the comforts of home, my hope is in none of these things.

In the words of Mary, the mother of Jesus: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! 

Wishing you and yours a joyous and blessed Christmas Day!

Join The Conversation

46 Responses

  1. Merry Christmas to you and your family! I’ve enjoyed your blog for awhile but my first time commenting. My husband is a firefighter and just left for a 24 hour shift so it will be a quiet day at home. We had our dinner and opened presents last night since our young adult children weren’t interested in getting up at 5:00 this morning. One of my gifts was the beautiful wool coat you’ve shown from J Crew. I love it! Thanks for all your hard work. Blessings!

  2. I’m glad you are taking a break. We all should enjoy family and focus on what the season is about. I plan to. We had family brunch yesterday. Today I’ll go see the grands open gifts and then relax rest of day. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

  3. Have a wonderful Christmas Day! We are blessed beyond measure that we have a God who loves us so deeply.  Hope your husband and kiddos wake up feeling well.

  4. Merry christmas !   your christmas sounds like ours  nice and quiet.  enjoy your day !  Jesus is the reason for the season 

  5. Merry Christmas!  What a great post – we have a horrible flu bug going around here that’s put so many people into bed. So far, so good for me. 

    Enjoy your day with family. 

  6. Merry Christmas!  I’m glad your enjoying time with family & friends.  I look forward to seeing the outfits but all that can wait 🙂

  7. It will be a quiet day for me as well. My husband and I will go to church, then open presents from each other. Tomorrow we go to his brother’s for dinner. My family Christmas was last weekend. Merry Christmas, Jo-Lynne and thank you for all that you do!

  8. Have a wonderful holiday. I hope Paul feels better. Thank you for helping us all feel better about ourselves. Beauty is from the inside, but it helps to feel better about ourselves on the outside as well. Enjoy!

  9. I’m so glad you took the day off yesterday, Jo-Lynne. We love you but we know we have to share you. As a person who works from home, I know how easy it is to allow it to be all-consuming. So glad you took the time for your family and friends. Have a wonderful, quiet day with your family. After 3 calls from a grandson asking when I will be arriving, I’m off to have coffee and Christmas cookies and open a few gifts with my grandchildren. Merry Christmas and may God bless us everyone.

  10. Merry Christmas Jo-Lynne! Thank you for all the fashion inspiration all year but most of all for being you and committed to the blog we all look forward to each day. Enjoy your family time and God Bless.  

  11. You had a busy day yesterday.  I sure do hope that you took a quick picture before you headed to lunch with your girlfriends!  Oh, I pray that Paul will feel better today.  We had steak last night.  Caroline is such a pretty young lady!  Great Christmas card.  Merry Christmas!  Happy Birthday Jesus!

  12. Thank you for the lovely greeting on this special morning Jo-lynne! Hope you, your family and your readers have a day filled with peace and love! Merry Christmas!

  13. Merry Christmas, Jo-Lynne! I want to be sure to tell you how much I enjoy your emails, too. I love how real you are, and of course your taste in clothes. And my secret pleasure over the past few years has been the FB group, Fashion for Woman over 40. This incredible group of loving and prayerful women got me through chemotherapy and recovery. Blessings indeed! Maia

  14. Merry Christmas to you and your family!  Thank you for all you do!  Enjoy the day with your family and I hope Paul feels better quick.  

    Like you, while I love getting together with family and gifts etc, that’s not why I celebrate Christmas.  I celebrate that our God voluntarily came down and was born in human flesh in order to sacrifice Himself for our sins – so that we can have eternal salvation!  Praise God!  

  15. Meet Christmas to the Shane household.  I sat quietly, drank my coffee and watched the sunrise.  Ilglad to hear that you also got to enjoy the quiet moments of the season. 

  16. Merry Christmas!🎄What a beautiful picture of your family. Hope your husband feels better this am. Blessed to be spending it with our son in Portland Oregon! 

  17. I know I am a day late I responding but that’s because I was doing the same thing you were- focusing on family and the true meaning of Christmas.  Thanks for this sweet post and the reminder of what is most important! Merry Christmas!🎄

  18. Merry Christmas to you, your family and your readers! Your family Christmas card is beautiful. Thanks for sharing with us!. Hope Paul feels better. Happy belated birthday to your daughter. Thank you for all of your hard work with your blog!

  19. Thanks for always being real!   Enjoyed your post today.  Merry Christmas!  I’m so thankful for the hope we have in Jesus!!

  20. Merry Christmas!!! We are just taking some down time after a busy morning. We started our day reading the Christmas story in Matthew then opened our stockings and gifts from Santa 😉. Had a big breakfast then opened our gifts. We will have our turkey dinner at supper time.. it’s a great day with all five of us together… hope your hubby is feeling better today and you all enjoy this special day.

  21. Merry Christmas I to say with a cup of coffee early this morning by the tree lights and wished Jesus a Happy Birthday for her is the reason for the season 

  22. I have read the Christmas story from Luke or Matthew each day of December to remind me of the reason for the season.

    We celebrated yesterday with children and grandchildren beginning with breakfast and thru the day until 6 pm.  Love all of us being together.  Today we went to our son’s home for lunch and to see what Santa brought!  So thankful for God’s blessings and the gift of His Son.

  23. Merry Christmas to you & yours!!   We had our family celebration last evening and today it is quiet and that is fine with us! 
    My husband used to get sick every Christmas too.  There are things in the subconscious/body connection we cannot control.  I hope he is feeling better and able to enjoy all that this special time brings.  I know he can always enjoy his hope in the Savior whose birth we celebrate!

  24. Merry Christmas Jo-Lynne !  Thank you for all you do – love your posts and advice. Enjoy family time – hope your husband is feeling better.  Jesus is the reason for the season🙏

  25. Merry Christmas!  Hope you had a day filled with blessings, fun and family. Looking forward to your post, but I’m glad you just took time with family and friends. Thanks for all you do for us!

  26. Merry Christmas, beautiful Jo-Lynne…
    Thanking our Father for the gift of His Son

    Enjoy your holiday with your family, and thank you for sharing your day with us! ❤️

  27. Merry Christmas to you and your family!  I hope it was a great day together.  I love those lazy family days.  I hope you enjoyed the spinach gratin. I’ve made that every year on Christmas for the past 5-6 years.  It’s an extended family favorite.  I feel silly making the same menu almost every year but today I was told “it’s tradition” so I guess I will go with it.  It is delicious!

  28. Just read this post today, Dec. 26th.  Was fun seeing how you were going to spend your Christmas Day.  Merry Christmas to you, a day late.  LOL.  I look forward to seeing what you have for the New Year.  I always enjoy reading your post each morning. Its like a friend I’ve never met. 🙂  

  29. I just read tour Christmas posting (December 26) and wanted to pop in to wish you a beautiful Christmas season. 

    It’s always fun to hear how others spend the holidays and what they serve. Your traditions and day sounds peaceful and joyous. 

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