Christmas 2012

I know I did more than my fair share of complaining about the long drive, but I am so glad we made it up here this year.  I think mostly I was complaining about it potentially not even being worthwhile.  Tim had originally told me he wanted to stay three days and I was like, "Are you crazy?"  But we are here for about a week and a half, which is a nice long time.  We would have made the most of it on our own in North Carolina, but this has been a wonderful Christmas in New England.  Tim and I are so blessed to be spending it together, and to be in the place where he was born and raised, surrounded by family.  It is frightfully cold and we have been eating way too much junk food, but we are all enjoying ourselves immensely.  We've made so many great memories.

Lucky for us, our Elf on the Shelf Chippy brought us a nice new camera from Santa before we left, so we could take lots of good pictures.

The drive went well.  We were able to adhere to Tim's timeline, arriving maybe a half hour behind schedule due to traffic.  In order to do this, we only stopped to get gas and go to the bathroom, eating the snacks and sandwiches we had in the cooler.  Sometimes we didn't even stop for the bathroom.  At one point we were in the middle of three lanes in bumper to bumper traffic, maybe in Connecticut, when we heard a little voice say, "I need to use the potty."  We were like, "Oh no.."  I decided to break the law and have the girls use the potty-to-go in the back.  You do what you gotta do!

Tim's parents and sisters were so happy to see us.  I'm glad we didn't give his mom and dad a heart attack when we sneaked into their house the night we arrived.  We've taken over Karen's house again.  She was surprised to hear that we've actually unpacked and put our clothes in the  drawers upstairs.  She said, "Wow, you guys have moved in."  We don't like living out of bags, and Tim is very OCD about his stuff being organized.

Here are some highlights of the last several days:

-- Friday night pizza at Tim's parents', followed by an impromptu Christmas talent show.  Natalie sang a Christmas song from a Disney show called Good Luck, Charlie.  She sang it in such a heartfelt way, with such dramatic expressions and gestures, that all the grown-ups in attendance didn't know whether to giggle or cry.  She also worked the audience, taking one person's hand, pressing her cheek against another's, and one time hugging Delaney while Delaney froze like a deer in headlights.  Natalie's shows are a frequent occurrence at every family gathering.  She definitely has a future in the performing arts.

I was surprised to see Delaney take the stage next.  She sang a song she'd learned at school that had a southern flavor, called "Way Down in Bethlehem."  It made me smile, especially when she got to the last verse when she clapped her hands and stomped her feet completely out of rhythm as she sang, "They named the baby Jesus, Oh my Lord.."  Then she, Natalie, and Annie sang Christmas carols together.  

The older girls who are looking and acting more like adolescents every time we see them, did their best to stay away from the spotlight and the camera.  Timmy just drifted around from person to person, charming everyone with that silly grin of his, and enjoying all the attention.

-- Crafting, eating pizza, and watching Disney movies at Auntie Karen's.  The older girls put together some impressive foam gingerbread houses, and the younger ones had fun decorating Christmas trees with glitter glue and stickers.  Karen had warned Tim and me that it was going to be absolute chaos, but we marveled at  how calm and well-behaved everyone was.  We attributed it to the atmosphere of Karen's house, and the girls' knowledge of her expectations and what they can get away with.

-- B Family Christmas celebration on the 23rd.  There was lots of presents, food, more Christmas shows, a dance party, more food..

This picture, as well as the next four that follow, were taken with Kathy and Brett's fancy new Canon DSLR camera that Tim is jealous of.  It is very nice, but I like our little point-and-shoot.  Maybe one day we'll have both.

B cousins left to right: Annie (3), Juliana (10), Natalie (turns 4 tomorrow, I believe), Delaney (5), Timmy (17 months), Alexa (8), Sofia (8)

-- Christmas Eve.  We went to 4 p.m. Mass with Tim's parents and sister Karen.  Then we came back and took some pictures before heading to Aunt Jayne's house.  It was another late night like last year, but for some reason it didn't feel as long.  Maybe it was because last year Timmy was still an infant and waking up at night.  Being well rested makes a big difference and I am so grateful to have good little sleepers.

Timmy and his second cousin Kaden both sporting the outfits that Grandma, a.k.a. Auntie Carolyn got them

One of many yummy desserts.  My favorite was a Rice Crispie treat wreath.  Imagine my delight when Aunt Jayne gave us one of our very own to take home!

Tim's sister Kathy -- Sofia and Natalie's mom

Everybody participates in Christmas carols, and everyone has the words, thanks to the song books printed in 1992 and dedicated to "Auntie Carolyn."  Do not be caught having a private conversation while the carols are being sung.

There are six siblings on Tim's mom's side.  The family is huge and the last few years have seen a baby boom.

-- Christmas morning.  

-- The day after Christmas was a busy day.  In the morning the kids and I visited with friends down the street.  When we lived here, we lived in the same development as Karen, and these friends live in condo between Karen's and our old one.  The kids did not cooperate for pictures, little boogers.  In the afternoon, the girls went with Tim, their aunties Karen and Sam, cousins Juliana and Alexa, and Grandma, to go ice skating.  After ice skating they went to Clay Time, one of those ceramics painting places.  Timmy and I stayed back so he could have a nap.  

It was the first time ever ice skating for our girls.  They did pretty well, I  was told.

This evening, after we get the kids to bed, Tim and I will go to the house of some dear old friends for a get-together.  Then tomorrow it will be pack, pack, pack for the trip home early Sunday morning.  We are going to miss everybody so much, but right now I am just so happy and thankful for the great time we've had.  I'm just going to bask in that for awhile and try not to think too much about January yet.

Christmas

Christmas was in almost every way perfect.  

After an early afternoon nap, we got dolled up for Mass and the Christmas Eve party at Aunt Jayne's immediately following.  As soon as everyone was dressed, it was picture time.  Quick -- while everyone is still looking pretty, hair's still fixed, and all clothing is in place!

Delaney wouldn't smile without fake coughing.  I think she did it on purpose just to push my buttons.

We went to Mass at St. Peter's, where Tim and I were married and Delaney was baptized.  We got there early so we could sit.  The kids were well-behaved, and Timmy fell asleep on Karen's shoulder.  Hearing the beautiful Christmas songs and looking at our happy kids all dressed up, made me overwhelmed with gratitude for all we have, but also brought tears to my eyes.  I fought them back the whole time because I was so grateful for this good life we have, but sad because I wanted Tim to be here.  Soon! 

As we left the church, we stopped to say hi to Father Jim, a family friend.  He gave Timmy a blessing.  

We went straight to Aunt Jayne's house.  Jayne is Tim's mom's sister, and this was a gathering of e-e-e-everybody on that side of the family.  Before long the house was bursting at the seams.  The girls ran off to play with their cousins, Timmy greeted his admirers, and I ate lots of shrimp cocktail and cheese and crackers.  As usual, I was starving.  Soon after, I fed Timmy and laid him down on a folded quilt in Jayne's bedroom.  I laid down next to him for a few minutes because he was a little unsure at first whether he wanted to be there.  I felt the vibrations of kids jumping around, and heard muffled laughter and conversation.  This is what Timmy would be feeling and hearing in his sleep the whole rest of the night until it was time to go home.  It was very soothing.  I could have almost gone to sleep myself.

We ate a delicious dinner, sang Christmas carols, and opened gifts.  I took a lot of pictures and videos with my phone and sent them to Tim throughout, so he could see them first thing when he woke up.  I was so glad that he could glimpse the smiles and the look of wonder on the girls' faces as everybody sang.  This will be one of the first Christmases they remember, and it will be a great memory.

Delaney was excited to be staying up late and having fun.  Here she is with her  second cousin Maddison.

This is how Annie looked at around 7.  The night was still very young, and I didn't know how long we'd make it.

Delaney's ready for Christmas carols with her song book and candy cane.

As it got later, it started to look like a slumber party with all the pajama-clad kids lying around.

Annie loved goofing off with her Great-Uncle Bob whom she dubbed "Snowman."  She got her second wind!

We didn't leave until close to 10.  Everybody was exhausted.  The kids all fell asleep in the car on the way home.  They still wanted one story at bedtime, so I read them their Hallmark recordable storybook, The Night Before Christmas, read by their daddy.  Karen and I ran around the house trying to restore order to the chaos.  After making sure everything was in place, I fell into bed around midnight.  Between Timmy waking up numerous times, and mysterious noises, it was not a restful night for me.

Timmy woke up at 6:30, and Annie came running out at as soon as the clock turned yellow at 7, searching for Chippy the elf, forgetting that he had gone back to the North Pole with Santa.  Delaney slept in until 7:30.  We opened all the presents from Santa and my family, and Tim's parents came over.

We both wanted to help Delaney with her new puzzle, but there was a lot of confusion.  I joked that as soon as we left her alone, she'd probably finish it herself in two minutes.  She did.

It flurried for about 20 minutes, and that was as close as it would get to a White Christmas.

The girls are wearing their new nightgowns from Auntie Grace.

We spent the rest of the day grazing on fruit and breakfast foods, playing with the kids and their many new toys, and trying to take a nap (me!).  Then we had dinner at Tim's parents.  It was a laid-back day, just the way Christmas Day should be.