Jenna Marie: Christmas Blessings

I had a very blessed Christmas this year. It was filled with ups and downs and even some tears, but ultimately I was blessed to get to spend it with family and to be able to celebrate the most precious gift in the birth of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Christmas morning was a rough one. It was one of those days when I woke up in a ton of pain. Everything hurt and it seems like it takes everything in my to get out of bed. I eventually did though, and around noon headed over to my parents house. We opened presents which is always fun! At 3:00 we headed over to my aunt and uncle's house to celebrate Christmas with my dad's family! Having 14 aunts and uncles and 20 cousins, this is always sure to be a great time! We had a wonderful meal and I had a great time chatting with cousins I hadn't seen in a while! It always blows my mind how fast we are all growing up! The adults do a grab bag gift exchange which is always quite entertaining with lots of surprises. We had fun watching this, and then my uncle surprised the kids! Last year we all got Illinois t-shirts in honor of U of I making it to the Rose Bowl. This year we didn't expect to get anything. Nothing had been announced to adults so we assumed the gift exchange was over. But John announced that in honor of Central Catholic High School winning the 4A football state championship that was the theme. My dad and his 6 siblings all went to Central along with my grandparents. Most of my 20 cousins went there, go there, or will go there so we are big Saints fans in our family. I have attended the football games my entire life. So anyways, he brings out a gift for all the cousins - new Saints apparel! What fun! It was just a fun day with family! I was blessed to get to see the cousins and spend time with my parents! Here are some pictures of the day!