The family Christmas Eve party took place at our house this year, which was nice for several reasons. First of all, the children were well-rested, having enjoyed naps in their own beds, which made the entire evening more pleasant. Second, we were able to put the baby in bed at his bedtime, which freed up one of us to enjoy some game time with the adults. Third, we didn't have a long drive home. And fourth, we got most of the left overs. Yummy.
To fully appreciate this blessing, you should know that we had the most amazing German dinner: Schnitzel, rice, red cabbage, Gurkensalat, rolls, and on and on... It took us five whole days to finish the leftovers. Yes, that's right, FIVE days. And we ate Schnitzel for lunch and dinner. For about a week we skipped around the kitchen area and called out, "Schni-tzel!" (This is in reference to Hoodwinked). And then we laughed and laughed. It was a lot of fun and saved me a week of buying groceries.
Thanks to everyone for coming up on Christmas Eve; it made it so relaxing for us.
Christmas Day was low-key, but also nice. The boys were so excited that Santa had left presents under the tree. Matthew wanted to open them and Caleb wanted to eat them, so I guess you could say that there was something for everyone. We handed Matthew his first present and he said, "Thank you!" and then to my great surprise, instead of opening his present, he said, "Mama, want one?" Awwwww. Matthew is so good and so sweet, sometimes it hurts.
Right before we went to bed on Christmas Day, I noticed that it had started to snow. By the next morning, there was quite a pile. This is the third or fourth time we've shoveled this bad boy. Fortunately our neighbor came over with a snowblower.
The last time I was shoveling, my neighbor yelled over the fence, "I bet you miss Hawaii right now, huh?" At first I said, "Yes" and then I remembered the flash flood in Laie, and corrected my previous answer. And then I went inside and kissed the bottom third of my wall. Here's a shout-out to our friends on the island. Wish we could be there with you, replacing dry-wall and fighting the battle against mold and mildew.
What a year it's been: another big move, a new job, a new house, a new baby. A new start. We did it. We did it together.
Happy New Year!
4 comments:
Ah. So glad we are counting our blessings. You may have made it through the battling mold and dry wall droppings, but you probably would have picked up your skirts and ran if you had seen the mosquitoes last night. Especially with the sweet flesh your boys have. Yum Yum Yum.
You MADE that dinner? WHAT?! And you didn't take pictures and post recipes?
Actually, I didn't make the dinner (although I do cook those things)--everyone pitched in and brought something to share. My contribution this year was White Chocolate-Cranberry Cookies and ice cream. Lots and lots of ice cream with hot fudge and whipping cream. Oh man, was it good!
You are so right about the mosquitos. I definitely would have run away screaming. As I recall, there was quite a hatching of mosquitos last year right when we left. I was going crazy! Every time we went outside there was a feeding frenzy--on my blood!
I can only imagine what fun the mosquitos are having this year with all the extra standing water. Ew. Shiver. I feel itchy just thinking about it.
Want the recipes?
It was a fun party and a delicious dinner! Watching the cousins play together was delicious, too. :-) By the way, I just sent you some pictures of the party -- check your email.
It *was* an amazing year, wasn't it? We wish you and Chris and your sweet boys all good things in 2009. Love you to pieces, Sis! ♥
Thanks for sending those pictures! Your shots of the pre-dinner make my house look like some kind of fancy restaurant. And that photo of Caleb peeking through the banister and then the one of him attacking Uncle Eric with love. Awww...
Thanks for sharing! I was too busy with the babies to take pictures.
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