Chapter Sixty: Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I hope your day was as wonderful as ever. I had such a great day...but before I talk about Christmas, I have to talk about the few days leading up to this very special holiday.
This past weekend was full of cleaning in preparation of Christmas and my Aunt's birthday (which was on Sunday). Early in the week, I had dinner with Luke, his mother, and his step-father and helped decorate the tree. I didn't get to decorate my family's tree, so it was fun to do! Besides, you can learn a lot about someone by looking at their Christmas ornaments.

On Tuesday, Luke and I went on an adventure. Every year, Gaylord Texan hosts ICE! (Click the link to find out more information!) ICE! is where hundreds of pounds of ice is shipped to the hotel and about 30 Chinese ice-carvers come to Texas just to carve the ice and create the magic. This year's theme was Frosty the Snowman...and it was absolutely beautiful. It always amazes me how beautiful these sculptures are. I love the fact that it's all ice!

Festive, Beautiful, and Cold

Luke and I had a great time and, as Elsa said, the cold didn't bother us anyway. Luckily, Gaylord gives us heavy parkas, so this made the chilling art so much more enjoyable. 

Embracing the cold!

We were put on the naughty list for licking the ice...

We spent the rest of the day exploring the hotel. Every year it is adorned with gorgeous lights and memorable decorations. Boy, it was beautiful! We began in the atrium, the main body of the hotel. 

Beautiful tree, and the river that runs through the hotel

Easily the most crowded part of the hotel, the atrium included a million places to take pictures, a mini-train track that went all throughout the dome, and many walkways to scour out the place. We then ventured off to the Winery area (not that we could participate) but enjoyed the scenic bar and pretty vineyard. 

The Gaylord Texan has it's own Vineyard!

Not a lot of people were in this area...probably because it was a bit chilly outside. The cold wasn't too bad...besides, the vineyard was beautiful! After taking in the view, Luke and I headed over to the other side of the hotel. We walked the "Riverwalk," an imitation of the San Antonio's famous tourist attraction. Quite lovely, especially with all the Christmas cheer. 

The Riverwalk in the Gaylord Texan

We couldn't just leave with that, though. We hung around until sunset to see the hotel at night. This took some stalling, which isn't hard to do when you're hanging out with someone you really like! Luke and I had plenty of fun window shopping and riding elevators all afternoon. Once sunset came, however, we witnessed the hotel transform before our own wide eyes. 

Gaylord...at night

The hotel transformed into an even more beautiful place. It was worth the awkward elevator rides and noisy crowds. Eating a greasy, too-expensive pizza dinner was never more romantic than eating under the sky full of lights and Christmas cheer. 

We had a wonderful time and I'm sure we'll be back next year! 

Happiness...brought to you by Lexus. Watch our Surprise Photobooth Experience Here.

Christmas Eve was full of lots of last minute gift wrapping, cleaning, and attending Christmas Eve Mass. Before I knew it, it was Christmas day! 

Every one of us shuffled around the house to make everything perfect. I vacuumed, mopped, and even stuffed the stockings (a little last minute...like 5 minutes after everyone showed up..). We all ate Mom's wonderful omelette, muffins, and other assorted brunch foods. Once the kids were full, we organized the gifts into piles and watched the fun unravel. Evelyn is at that age where unwrapping gifts is fun, but once she finds a toy she really likes, it's hard to get her to unwrap more. Robley just ran around and didn't pay much attention to anything. AJ napped through the whole thing. Good thing the parents enjoy unwrapping gifts! 

Christmas at the Lane household!

I got a lot of great gifts. I received the entire Harry Potter DVD collection, which has been on my wishlist for about as long as the movies have been around. (I'm feeling a Harry Potter marathon coming on, and it won't be on ABC Family!) Mom gave me a blanket with a huge Pug face on it...which is basically a dream come true. Aunt Terry gave me a whole case of Ramen (You know you're in college when...) along with a recipe book for Ramen noodles. Kris, Russell, and AJ gave me three Disney Blu-Rays with a new Blu-Ray player! My love for Disney has reached a new level of HD. 

In the afternoon, Luke came by and whisked me to his house to open up our gifts for each other. I made him a blue and grey plaid blanket with a special message stitched on it. He really loved it (which makes me very, very happy!) 

Luke Henderson...Matthew 11:28...<3 Sarah

"Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

In exchange, Luke gave me a beautiful, silver cross. I loved it so much I put it on the instant I got it!

My gift from my honey!

I really love how we both included Christ into our gifts. It's important to remember the true meaning of this holiday. 

Christmas was wonderful...I spent time with the ones I love the most, which is very meaningful and special (especially for a girl who has missed home ever so dearly!). 

I hope you all had a very, Merry Christmas day. God bless! 

How was your Christmas? Comment below!

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