Christmas Day

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said to them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.


For the past several Christmas mornings, Robert and I look back and remember those times when we'd get up early, turn the tree lights on, set the fire, turn on soft music in the background, making sure the tree and the whole living room was PERFECT.  The kids would wake up, and we'd make them wait, on the stairs or down the hallway, until everything was juuuuust riiiiight.

Those days are GONE!  We had hours of time to do every/anything.  I finished wrapping. We read the newspaper. Robert went back to bed.  I VACUUMED.  I began dinner prep and wondered what to have for lunch.  It was after 11 a.m. before they finally got up!

The weather's continued to balmy, and we've slept with bedroom windows open for several nights.  So I found the fireplace video on Netflix. Wouldn't want to miss out on that!  As I do every year, I grabbed my notebook and pen to take details notes of presents.  As he does every year, Trevor sat by the tree and handed out gifts.

Robert, preparing to be dazzled--by the fire, by the tree, by happy children, 

or perhaps by my brilliant smile!!

We had a quiet day (what was left of it anyway!).  It was nice, it was good to have everyone here, and just do our traditional Christmas.

Dinner:  Prime rib (Robert's Christmas gift!) with horseradish sauce, twice baked potatoes, spinach Madeline, jello pretzel salad, homemade cranberry sauce (made by Holly), cranberry nut bread, and homemade creamed corn.  Robert, as usual, made pie for dessert.  Those pretty red chargers underneath the plates?  Those were my great Christmas present find for Robert--well, and for me too, I guess.

Oh, sure. TRY to make a funny face, and I'll post it anyway.

Our second Christmas tree is the random addition there.  Robert likes having a Christmas tree in the front window.  He did that once with our tree, but the rest of us rebelled.  We don't sit in the living room; we want it in the family room where WE can see it.  He sits in the living room a lot, while on his computer, listening to music, etc.  So several years ago, he bought a second tree for the living room.  Conveniently, it is pre-lit and stays assembled.  It gets wrapped up in a sheet when stored in the basement.  No muss, no fuss (although the ornaments come down each year).  It's a super pretty tree, isn't it?

 

He painted the Mr. and Mrs. Claus figures

 when he was in high school; one of his favorite decorations!