Nolan has a wonderful first Christmas! We loaded up the car and drove up to Atlanta to see our family. Nolan got to meet his great Aunt Joyce, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Doug at a small family gathering. We also spent Chritmas Eve with the Avondale Purdy's where we enjoyed a yummy dinner and church at All Souls. We woke up early Christmas morning and drove to North Carolina to have Christmas dinner with the entire Heppding clan at Chris and Ally's house. It was especially exciting because Nolan got to meet Grannie, Papa, and all his aunts, uncles, and cousins. It was really fun watching Nolan and Ava meet for the first time-they were born exactly one month apart.
We spent Christmas and the days following in Sanford visiting with Fred, Gayle, the Virginia Heppdings, and Chris and Ally. Ava and Nolan did a lot of playing together while Heather and I chatted about motherhood. All the girls enjoyed lunch at Mrs. Lacy's. You would have thought we had ordered enough food to feed an army. But Gayle had 2 DIL's that were nursing and 1 DIL with a baby on the way. Needless to say, we were quite hungry. It was an especially memorable Christmas because it was Nolan's first white Christmas!
We didn't hesitate getting Nolan out in the snow. Of course we wanted to capture this since he probably won't see snow again for quite awhile. We enjoyed staying at the Hamton Inn while in North Carolina and Phil got some good practice driving in the snow go back and forth from the hotel to his parents house.
We drove back to Atlanta a few days after Christmas to celebrate with Ging and Pop. Nolan was beyond spoiled with lots of love, kisses, and presents. He has already gotten a lot of use out of his DVD player for the call and he got his first check for his college account. We always love going to Ging and Pop's house because they play with Nolan and take great care of him.
Without a doubt, this was the best Christmas I have ever had. It was so enjoyable watching Nolan meet new family and trying the figure out the craziness of unwrapping presents. Most of all, I can't wait for him to learn the true meaning of Christmas in the coming years. How wonderful that we can celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and remember all He has done for us.
