christmas morning for two.

Last year, which was our first Christmas to be married, Patrick and I started what we think is a great tradition. We decided to have our own little "Christmas morning" together before seeing our families and entering into all the craziness and hustle and bustle. It's really special, and gives us a chance to start our own little family traditions that we'll hopefully continue even when we have kids. Last year, we did this on Christmas Eve, since we were going to my family's house later in the day and they only live about an hour away. This year, we're spending a few days in Knoxville first (Patrick's family lives there), so "Christmas morning" for us was on Thursday the 22nd.

First, we opened our stockings. Patrick went all out this year:

I got craft supplies, hand warmers (I'm always cold), a pretty scarf, earrings, a coffee mug, and some Yankee candle stuff for my car.

Here's the contents of Patrick's stocking:

 He got boxers, a Buckyball, an iTunes gift card, and candy (including some chocolate-covered candy cane "coal" that I got at Trader Joe's, hehe).

After stockings, we made our traditional (does it count as a tradition if we've done it two years in a row?) french toast and bacon breakfast. We like this tradition because it's very adaptable. We made regular french toast the last couple years with a little vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg, but we're thinking we may mix it up and try stuffed french toast next year. We may even try making some different sauces, since I don't like maple syrup.

After stuffing ourselves, we opened our main presents.

Mine was the softest, fluffiest robe ever! :)

Sorry I look super gross here, but I wanted to get a picture. 

I got Patrick a non-blue dress shirt. He loves blue, but nearly all his shirts are that color so this is my attempt to incorporate some grey. 

 I also painted this:

 "It is Well" is one of mine and Patrick's favorite hymns. I painted these to hang in our bedroom. They look more green in this picture that they actually are (thanks, yucky yellow walls) but I was going for a water look. Which I think was quite successful in real life. 

This shows the color a little better: 

Well, there you have it. Our Christmas morning for two. Now it's time to have fun with our families for the next few days! :)