Christmas

I've said it a hundred times, and I'll say it again:

I must get caught up here.

We celebrated Christmas Eve by going to a candlelight service at church, which included a lovely program with music from Handel's Messiah. We came home, ate French Dip sandwiches, and watched Jingle All the Way, a Christmas favorite around here.

Christmas morning. No more kids running down the hall, waiting expectantly for us to finish getting everything ready. Now Robert and I wake up first, drink coffee, and read the paper. We are the ones waiting expectantly now, I guess!



Trevor passed out presents, per tradition, so we all have our own little stack in front of us.



In what seems like more tradition, Trevor is the only one who gets his photo taken on Christmas morning. I appreciate that. On a few different levels.

Lego Star Wars Character Encyclopedia

The kids are used to going slow. None of the tear-into-the-gifts wild melee here. At least one or two of us will call for a stop so we can grab something for breakfast. Trevor and I have long preferred lox and bagels, and Holly and Robert stick to bagels and flavored cream cheese.

MP3 player from Uncle Mike and Aunt Val

I was very happy to find a few Peruvian-specific gifts for Holly. I found her Inka Kola at a local Mexican grocery store. She also got a ornament memorializing Peru, and we found a perfect photo collage frame that I decorated just for her.


We had a wonderfully relaxing day. I don't think the kids ever changed out of pajamas. We'd already decided to tone down our big Christmas dinner. After all that work, no one is ever hungry enough to eat everything. We decided on a much simpler corned beef, potatoes, carrots, and frizzled cabbage, and I threw in our holiday pretzel jello salad to make it a bit more festive. Holly made Chocolate Pecan Pie for dessert, which was incredibly decadent.


Another Christmas to treasure as my kids get older. Immanuel: God with us.

Christmas: The day we celebrate our God coming to earth, walking and breathing among us, shattering time, bringing hope and the promise of eternal life.