After last year's Christmas of being careful - everything over Zoom and/or masked - it was so nice to be together with family this year! It was still different, with regular covid testing (especially with us JUST being out of quarantine) and no big parties. We really missed seeing some of our out-of-town family but enjoyed each moment with those we did get to see! We had to hold on until Christmas Eve when everyone was clear and covid-free, but we hosted Lisa, Sarah and Alex's family, and my dad on Christmas, which apparently I have NO photos of (the waffle party is always a bit of a whirlwind!) then the Stepeks hosted the first party at their new house the next day.
 |
| Super hero girls |
 |
| Mom and siblings |
 |
| Cousin picture! DJ was intentionally covering up Eddie because he'd taken off his "nice" shirt. |
 |
| How many people fit on Erin and Steve's couch? |
 |
| Rare family photo |
I'm sitting with Eddie and Mary Cate (and Lafayette, who loves the new electric throw blanket) right now as they practice blowing bubbles with Kevin's Christmas bubble gum. I asked about their favorite things about Christmas this year. Eddie said time with cousins and Mary said guessing at what her presents were. I agree with Eddie that family time was great, and with Mary that gift-giving was fun this year. A highlight was getting a toaster oven/air fryer from Kevin Christmas morning. When he commented that I didn't seem all that excited, I had to reveal that it was only because I had gotten him a toaster oven/air fryer for his birthday and I was trying to figure out what to do! We really did need a new one. :) The girls knew about it the whole time and didn't reveal anything. Another favorite this Christmas were all the thoughtful gifts from the girls that they bought or made completely independently. Mary followed their lead and the results were delightful.
 |
| Kevin's record from Annie |
 |
| Comic bookmark from Nellie about "Piece of the Earth" |
 |
| Mary made me my favorite snack - a Cheez-it! - out of popsicle sticks |
 |
| Mary's book for Annie, in which she wrote the whole Christmas story |
All in all, Christmas was a little quieter than usual, but all the opportunities to visit with family felt especially precious. We ate lots of amazing food, including french dip subs courtesy of Nellie's successful hunting this year, Swedish meatballs, brussel sprouts, and LOTS of cookies and ice cream pie. We were able to enjoy the Christmas Eve service remotely (again) and experience Christmas anew through the eyes of the little ones. The not-so-little ones are getting older - it's a continued shift to gifts of clothes and electronics instead of dolls and Legos. But Christmas is still a little magical and a lot of fun. Here's the photo evidence:
 |
| The girls got to make cookies with Grandma while the others were quarantined! |
 |
| Mom and I agree that they are very helpful bakers - they've surpassed our skills! |
 |
| Gingerbread is an all-day labor of love...but we do love it. |
 |
| Sisterly peace |
 |
| The big gift |
 |
| The best moment - waiting to be called down on Christmas morning! |
 |
| Tried for the classic tree picture. Here they are yelling "ho ho ho!" |
 |
| The family room post-present hurricane |
 |
| They like it. |
 |
| Helping with Legos |
 |
| It wasn't a white Christmas but the snow came soon after! |
No comments:
Post a Comment