Christmas 2010

Every Christmas Eve the kids receive
new jammies.

It was a wonderful feeling not having to go to the airport this year at Christmas. I can hug Heather all I want and not freak out that she will be gone in X amount of days. But I did get a bit of excitement surge thinking back on how totally wonderful it felt counting down the days till she was here. :0)

Christmas could not have been any more wonderful. We are healthy, have food in the kitchen, a beautiful place to call home, and we were all together. There are things we still greatly miss: spending time with Grandma; spending the week after Christmas at the family farm, cutting our tree down in the woods; attending First Presbyterian Church's Christmas Eve children's services and spending time with their Godparents.

Tree shopping is serious stuff!

This year was different. It was not as hectic, hurried, or anything of the sort. We did a little a baking nothing like we use to do. We spent quiet time with one another. Rather exchanging a bunch of gifts, we drew names. Each person make a thoughtful present or deed for whose name they drew. we all enjoyed this greatly. Sarah Elizabeth made a Santa coat for Joseph. She sewed all the around the cuffs and up the  zipper with cotton balls. It is darling! He sleeps in it and wears it constantly with his Santa hat, gloves and boots everywhere! He makes people smile when they see him. :0)
Exchanging gift of  love with one another will definitely be a new tradition with our family.

Even naked,
the grand fir is lovely.

We attended the Christmas Eve service at Bethesda Lutheran. It was a small gathering and very simple. Just the pace we had hoped for. How I love Pastor Malcolm! Dinner was wonderful. Afterwards the girls baked cookies for Santa while continuing another Christmas tradition...watching 24 hours of a Christmas Story! Before bedtime the children made sleeping arrangements. They always sleep in the same room.  I guess to make sure no one peeks! After the younger ones are tucked in the wrapping party begins. This year we could not put presents under the tree because of our 2 trouble making little boy kitties. With our luck the kittens will have had everything unwrapped and played with! Actually Emily thought it was really neat to wake up with all the presents put out. She asked if we could do this again next year.  If your counting that is 3 new traditions!

Christmas day was wonderful. Some napped, some watched new movies or read books they received as a gift. I cooked our first gluten free casein free Christmas dinner. It was wonderful. We had been invited out to our new homeschooling friends, The Smyers', for an evening of games as well as enjoying each others friendship but it did not happen. Too much Christmas excitement for Joseph. A major meltdown with the mere thought of leaving Scooby Do to fight the Black Lagoon creature alone pushed him over the top! Santa gave him the movie. I lost track how many times he watched that DVD that day. Obviously way too many!

The week after Christmas was a huge blessing. The tone of the week was laid back. I got some snuggle time with the younger children reading by the fire. Jeff and I snuck out and shared a glorious lunch of gluten and cheese pizza! The kids went to the beach. I was allowed naps, time to read or write. It was like we were on vacation. (Even then I still get stuck with the dishes.)



For New Years Eve a very welcoming invitation was extended by the Smyers' to go Lake Union and watch the fireworks. We had a fabulous view of the Space Needle complete with no parking issues and a bathroom! We zipped in and out of Lake Union with no traffic. Unheard of in Seattle. How about that on a NYE? Moored beside the pier were multi-million dollar yachts. We were all in awe of the size, furnishings, and everything else. Shoot, some of the dingies were larger than our condo!

We were freezing while we waited for the show to begin. It was very interesting listening of the excitement welling up all around us as people began to start the count down. Prior to the count down it had been fairly quiet. The moment the first rocket shot off so did the cheers. It was such a festive environment! We greatly enjoyed the view of the fireworks. The boat parade marching past us through out the evening was pretty darn cool too. Over all it was a great way to kick off 2010.

New years day we all swore off making resolutions. Instead trying to make a difference as often as we can to keep our family healthy, peaceful, and remind each of them how deeply they are loved. I think this is a keeper.

Blessing of health and happiness to you and your family~blair