Christmas Day- We woke up to our traditional breakfast of bagels with cream cheese and/or apple butter and fruit. When we finished, Dad read the Christmas story aloud before we opened our gifts. We have to keep our priorities straight, you know. Once again, last minute gifts needed to be wrapped{please someone tell me we’re not the only people who do this}but finallyeveryone was ready in the livingroom. Everyone but Daniel, that is. His not being there{he was with Erika’s family}was the only other sad part of our Christmas. There was a Daniel-sized spot left on the couch but it was too sad to look at so we covered it with blankets and pillows.
Dad always hands out the gifts one at a time so we can all see and discuss it. It was discovered this year that certain people{ahem, Elizabeth}have an aversion to using to/from labels which resulted in people calling out ‘oh, thats my gift to so-and-so’ whenever Dad held up an unlabeled gift. It reminded me of some sort of auction.
One of my very favorite gift this year was from Andrew. He gave me a black hangable jewelry box with four spots for pictures on the front. As soon as I had the wrapping paper off he started telling me to take it out of its box and when I did I almost started to cry. Ok, I did cry but only a little. He had put four black and white pictures of the two of us in every spot. I was so touched! It means so much to me because I’ve always been the closest to him of all my siblings, and he knew how much I would love something like that. My other favorite gifts were what I blogged abouthere,and the beautiful You are My Sunshine print fromPretty Smitten. Grandpa used to sing that song to me so its very special.
Once again, all the good pictures are on Andrews camera so these will have to do until he gets home and I can post them.
Dad is one of those super hard to buy for types, but I found this very unique plant in watering gel with those little glass rocks you put in fish tanks suspended in it at a garden shop and thought it was perfect{if slightly weird{that was also a weird sentence}}.
I just realized those are the only presentable pictures I have from Christmas morning so I’m putting this one of Elizabeth and Daniel from the night before just ‘cause its really sweet.
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For our traditional Christmas dinner we went to Auntie Carol’s. Our menu was, and always is, antipasto{the real kind, not that fake stuff they sell in stores},chicken soup, then ravioli and meatballs, followed lastly by roast beef with potatoes and carrots. I love Christmas dinner; its so nice seeing everyone dressed up and just enjoying being together.
We never have anything specific we do after Christmas dinner; we mostly just talk and play with the kids new toys{this is always best at Molly and Zach’s house because they get the BEST toys}.Molly entertained us by singing songs about bears,princesses, and numbers into her new microphone; and the boys wrested on the floor{was that their way of showing Christmas love and cheer?}; and the aunts sat around the table to discuss next Christmas dinner{because thats just what Italians do-talk about a meal 364 days from now}. Let it be said here and now: I love my family!
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When we got home, we opened our stockings. This is the stocking situation in our family: Dads is the biggest, Moms is the longest and always has the most gifts inside, Daniels is the fuzziest, Andrews has little beads sewn around the top edge, mine is, hands-down, the cutest, and the twins stockings match. They are after all, twins. After that, we all cozied up on the couch in our new pajamas and robes for a movie marathon. We watched a movie about the origins of Christmas in others countries, Mr Hobbs Goes on Vacation, starring James Stewart{why,why couldn’t I have been old enough to marry him?}and three episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show{he would also have been totally fine to marry had we been the same age}. And so we finished our Christmas celebrations by going to bed on December 26th.
Those words just about sum up our Christmas. To describe everything would take many, many posts, so instead I’ll try to give a quick summary.{“Quick summary”? Since when have you ever given a quick summary? You haven’t even finished blogging about Daniel’s wedding yet.}
Anyway.
Christmas Eve- Daniel, Erika, and Wesley arrived around 3 o’clock Christmas Eve laden with gifts, food, and the excitement and expectation of, for Erika and Wesley, experiencing for the first time our large, loud, Italian Christmas. We didn’t have to make the long and arduous trek all the way across the yard to my aunt and uncles until 5 o’clock, so we used the time to do what we always do on Christmas Eve: finishing projects and wrapping gifts. Well, some of us did finishing and wrapping. The other some played the piano, drank tea, ate cheese and crackers, and basically just watched us work. But really, it was nice to have the CCE(Cutest Couple Ever)and Wesley to visit with while we were finishing.
Christmas has always had a little bit of sadness since Grandpa died but I’m so thankful its getting a little easier. Of course, I DO wish he was still here, and I DO wish that Erika and Wesley could have known him but I know that he would be happy that we continue to celebrate Christmas the same way we always have. The way we did with him. I also know that he would have LOVED Erika!
We always have tons of delicious food on Christmas Eve but this year just may have topped all the others. If I described it all any last possibility of this being a summary post would go out the window{if it hasn’t already}. I always make fudge and this year I made the winner of The 2009 Search for the Latest and Greatest Christmas Recipe, Oreo Balls. Pure yumminess.
After we ate, we all went into Grandmas part of the house for our Christmas carol sing. Since we had Wesley with us this year, he played and our singing never sounded better. It was so beautiful. Have I mentioned that he’s a very well-known organist in the organist world and I could listen to him playing the piano for the rest of my life and never tire of it? It was the general consensus that he should become our permanent pianist. Our family specialty song is We Three Kings; we always stretch out “oh,Star of Wonder” to “oooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh….” in honor of Auntie Evelyn{Grandpas sister}who started it.My favorite Christmas carols are
Away in a Manger and Oh Holy Night but I love so many more!
Aaron and Wesley discussing the songs. When Wesley is a very well-know organist to people outside the organist world{the world that I live in}, remember that you first heard about him here.
Grandma and Andrew singing away. I’m pretty sure this was when we were singing The Little Drummer Boy. Or “the rump-a-tum-tum song”, as my uncle calls it.
Skip ahead about half an hour and you’ll find us opening gifts. Almost all the good pictures are on Andrew’s camera which is with him in NJ, but we did get a couple on my camera.
Zachary was so excited about the hat and scarf Mom made him. He kept saying “look Mommy! A scarf! I really wanted a scarf! Look at it, Mommy!” It was really cute.
Alyssa wearing her new hat and scarf. My favorite part? The little button on the visor.
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When we got home, we did our gifts to/from Daniel and Erika since they spent Christmas day with her family. They gave me a really pretty beaded white and yellow necklace that I wore to church on Sunday. Its nice because its not like any necklace I already had in either style or color. They also gave us an 81/2 by 11 print of the picture we used for our Christmas cards. I love it! And yes, she did really like the earrings I made her!
Examining the sweatshirt that must have been terribly exciting, judging by the way they’re all looking at it! 🙂
This picture was actually taken Christmas morning, but its the only good one from my camera of Elizabeth wearing the earrings the CCE gave her. They also gave her a matching necklace she wasn’t wearing at the time. Aaron gave her the letter Rubiks cube game.
Christmas day will be up tomorrow when I’m done making oreo balls at 12:52AM. And when I’ve had about 62 more hours sleep. And when I finish the post{but thats sort of a given}.
A slight disappointment came my way yesterday afternoon: the twins mom emailed telling me she hurt her back so she didn’t need me to babysit after all. After I recovered, I spent the afternoon writing cards, licking envelopes, and arguing with myself about going out now to feed the rabbits instead of waiting til later when it would be much colder. I waited “til later” and seriously regretted it.
After an early supper, Elizabeth and I went to the friends’ Christmas performance at our homeschool group. It made my homeschool graduate heart proud to see how well the kids did. When the A Cappella group comes out with a cd I will be the first one at the store waiting to buy it.
Since the beginning of December, Grandma has been saying she wanted to bring us to her friends home so we could see their Christmas display. We finally went today and were completely floored by it. It was so good! They{mostly the husband}set up just over 200 miniature houses,churches, stores, restaurants, etc. along with over 300 accessories (people, lampposts,animals)in their cellar. They had a hunting lodge, Winter Castle, and even a little Starbucks store. You could spend an hour there and still not see everything.
I finished the earrings for Erika today and believe it or not{I’m still in the ” I can’t believe it” stage}, I love them. Being completely satisfied with a finished product is something to rejoice about when you’re a perfectionist! Once I cut out all unnecessary beads, they were as easy as pie to do. I think she’ll like them. : )
Wife, mother, laugh-er at very inopportune moments, and matchmaker. I am an excessive user of commas and exclamation marks. I once won March Madness despite knowing nothing about basketball, and I know how to find all the best Dunkin Donuts coupons. Clearly my talents are just endless.
