Christmas Wishes Do Come True

Alright y’all, this post is about to get real sappy.

For me Christmas has always been about getting together with my amazingly fun family and doing the same things every year. Which is awesome.

We eat a bunch of food, we drink some holiday drinks, we decorate cookies…and we do it all together. Side by side, Brady bunch style. There’s Christmas music on, everyone is laughing or yelling, the dogs are barking…this is just what we do. It’s madness and we love it.

However, 2013 was a big year for me – we got married and moved to Texas in the SAME.WEEK. and that year was just pure craziness. So when we decided stay in Texas and celebrate our first year as a married couple I was like, “oh this will be so cute and fun!”

When Christmas is just for two people, the hustle and bustle that comes with the holidays isn’t really necessary. Basically you get some food to eat, and spend three days reading books and watching movies in your pajamas. Easy!

​But as December 25th got closer, I realized I missed the holiday madness of everyone around, and Christmas is definitely not Christmas without snow!

So as we are sitting in our apartment on Christmas eve 2013, “traditions Jeannie” starts wondering what couples do on Christmas. No families around filling up the house, no kids to get excited for Santa, and there’s no gifts to exchange because we just got everything we wanted for our wedding!  I probably did a search on Pinterest and came across this post that inspired our new tradition.

Enter, predictions.

Each person writes down predictions for the year ahead and then seals it in an envelope until next Christmas. It’s fun to think about where you are headed, and then open it the next year to see how things turned out!

Fast forward to Christmas 2014, three months after our Honeymoon in Iceland. We are about to fly back to the Midwest to be with our families for the holidays when we remember we have to write our predictions. We are sitting on our couch under the Jokusarlon canvas that we longingly look at every day, dreaming of Iceland. I know what Bobby is writing and he knows what I’m writing. We are so excited, I am a little terrified. Are we sure we want to sell our whole life and move overseas?
​

When we opened our predictions this year there was so much happiness, and also a few tears. 2015 is magical for us because our Christmas wish came TRUE. And it was a big wish. AND we had the same wish, which is awesome.

And that wish was that we would be living in Iceland in 2015.

AND. WE. ARE.

And there are days when I still have to pinch myself to remember that this is our real life, the life we wanted together. The life we wished for when we were sitting on our couch in Texas under that beautiful canvas to remind us every day of where we wanted to be.

There was SO much emotion and stress about moving abroad, and honestly some days when I just wanted to throw in the towel. Iceland is a difficult country to get into with a work permit and nothing was guaranteed. There were a lot of hoops we had to jump through first. So many documents to send, emails answering a million questions, waiting, and more waiting.

But reading our Christmas prediction this year was a big reminder that this is where we wanted to be – both of us – and that is a beautiful thing.
​

I love this tradition. And I love Iceland.

Merry Christmas everyone…and may all of your wishes come true!

​Question: What are your Christmas wishes this year?
​

​Related Posts:
I Sold Everything I Owned and Moved to Iceland
Our Life in Iceland – Month 4
​8 Things I Love About Iceland