A different kind of Christmas Eve.

Who would've imagined we would have a white Christmas?
It was unbelievable, really. The snow just kept coming. We were thankful to be safe and warm at home.
We were also thankful that Memaw came over earlier that afternoon before the roads got so bad. The Heritage Christmas Eve service was called off because of the weather. It was a wise decision, but it was really hard to accept. Because of a friend's accident, we needed to be with our church family more than ever. A ton of work had gone into planning the service, too, and it was a shame that we'll have to wait a year before we get to celebrate it. But compared to the other events of that day, missing out on that service was just a disappointment.

We spent most of the afternoon of Dec. 24 at the hospital, praying along with hundreds of other friends for our friend Tim. When we first heard of his accident, we canceled our annual Christmas Eve family dinner. We later changed our mind, knowing we needed our family near us as we grieved. We got word that Tim had died about five minutes before our guests came over.

Brett made chili, and I made a sopapilla cheesecake. I didn't get to clean house or take care of all the other chores I wanted to before our company arrived; my heart just wasn't in it. Still, it was great to have Nana, Papa, Kelly, Chris and Memaw over for dinner!

Our guests (except for Memaw) had to eat and run because the roads were getting icy, but we knew the weather wouldn't keep Santa from visiting!
Surely Santa's an Oreo man!
We were in shock and in mourning, but we were ready—and thankful—for Christmas.