Time Off For Christmas – Photos From Cody’s Holiday Celebrations

The holiday season is now almost over, but I did have a chance to take some time off.  To be honest, I didn't take enough time off this year.  That's a story for another day though, and a goal for 2024!  But I thoroughly enjoyed the time off for Christmas! And below you can see some of my Christmas photos.

My first day off was last Wednesday.  Even though I was off, my first day of vacation was the Beasley Christmas Party, so I still got to see most of the people I work with. And no, Dub still didn't make it to this year's Christmas party! You can check out some photos from the party below.

I'll be honest, a good bit of my vacation was about REST!  And I tried my best to sleep in.  Unfortunately, the dogs didn't quite figure out the whole sleeping in thing very well.  Although this morning when I had to get up, they were definitely okay with snoozing away. I did manage to workout each morning, Wednesday through Friday.  Then I took a few days off to rest... and eat.  I promise I'm getting back to eating healthier today!  We did some meal prep yesterday, so I'm on the right track.

On Saturday, we took the pups to look at Christmas lights.  I started this tradition a few years ago.  But first, we had to stop and get pup cups.  Then we drove around and looked at lights while listening to some Country Christmas music.  Our final stop was at Evans Towne Center Park.  We got out and walked them around, but it was really crowded.  And while they LOVE people, it can be a bit difficult to rein them in.  I also don't always know how they'll react to other dogs, so we made sure to avoid any interactions there!

On Christmas Eve, my friend Crystal invited us to come to Christmas At True North.  It was a beautiful candlelight service with wonderful worship music and great message.  The rest of the day was pretty low key.  We just hung around the house and watched some of our shows.

Christmas Day I woke up really early.  I wanted to get a walk in with the pups before we had to head out and before the rain came.  We started our trip to my hometown of Barnesville around 6 a.m.  And we got to my parents' house around 9 a.m.  The rest of my family got there around 10 a.m. and our Christmas traditions kicked off with a big breakfast.

After breakfast, it was time for stockings!  I have played "Santa" at our family gatherings for many years, but I know I will eventually be passing it down to one of my nieces or nephews.  So this year, I asked my oldest niece, Brenna, to be Santa's Helper! We passed out all the stockings and then it was time to move to the den and start on the gifts under the tree!

Gifts were passed out and opened, and the kids were ready to play.  But first we had to get family Christmas photos!  That's always quite the feat.  Although it's a little easier now that the kids are older.  When they were babies, it was hard to get them all looking at the camera at the same time!

Overall, it was a wonderful Christmas holiday for me and my family.  I hope you had a great one too.  I will say, it's hard to wake up at 3:15 a.m. again, but I am glad to do it because I absolutely love what I do. I am looking forward to making many more memories with you, Kicks Country, in 2024!