Christmas

Do I need to say anymore about Christmas day than the fact that we saw Les Mis and it was absolutely amazing?
Yes, there are some of that needed a countdown calendar to December 25th not because it was Christmas but because it was the release of this amazing movie...

 

or some may prefer this rendering of the movie poster... I know I do

 

 

For a musical theater junkie like myself, it doesn't get much better than Hugh Jackman in a role that he was born to play. I mean...come on. When he sang "Bring Him Home", I'm not sure there was a dry eye in the very (and I mean sold-out crowd) crowded theater...at least among the females. Wow. Not only that...and I've never seen this before...no one made a noise for the nearly 3 hour-long movie. Usually you hear containers or soda cups rustling, but not during this movie. People hardly moved a muscle, and if they did, you would have heard it. The only movement was the occassional person getting up for the restroom. Then, the entire theater applauded at the end. It was like being at the musical production, it was that mesmerizing. Crazy.

 

 

Other than that, it was a low-key Christmas with my family and our family friend Joshua. We opened presents on Christmas Eve and some on Christmas Day, with my absolute favorite being...

 

 

 my mom and dad got us a Kindle Fire!!

 

because this photos below depicts what our day looked like for a good portion of the day yesterday, I stayed in and played with my new toy. For a bookworm like myself, it is the greatest gift ever. And Raul uses the ipod a lot, so this is a great alternative for me. I'm in love.

 

 

 

So the weather yesterday was frightful...several inches of snow, hazardous roads, businesses closed the day after Christmas (people had to wait longer to return their gifts). It was pretty much a mess. But we had a warm house to stay in and plenty to keep us company. Raul, however, had to drive back and forth to work in the morning and evening, and did fine...til he landed in a cornfield on his way back to work in the early evening. He was fine, thankfully, and so was the car. My dad and I rescued him, Dad took him to work while I dealt with AAA (best investment ever), and the car is fine. God's protection, I tell ya what...Raul was 5 feet away from hitting a sign as he went down into the cornfield. For his first real winter of driving (he started driving at the end of last winter, and it was a mild one), he's doing well. I just pray for continued protection.

 

And that's our holiday thus far. I'm feeling a bit sick, probably just a cold, but nevertheless.... I'm so thankful for this holiday season. I struggled to find the joy towards the beginning of it with finals and stress and all that, but things like this...

 

 

really do put you in the true spirit of the season.