Our awesome family:
Ahhh, the house is quiet, Zackie has finally calmed down from all the excitement and is asleep on my lap as I type. Poor guy, not only did he have to contend with a houseful of people but Christie & Kent brought their little kitten, Stewie, along. Zackie was OK to check Stewie out on his own terms but when Ben sat them down together Zackie went ballistic, growled, screamed, and couldn't hop (yes, Kent -- it was quite funny to see) away fast enough. He didn't come back upstairs for hours.
Our Christmas was wonderful; my girls are so thoughtful in their gift selections. Manny was a bit disappointed that he received 'too much fabric' (type gifts) but once he looked at all the cool shirts he got he decided that they weren't all that bad after all. I'll have to remember to balance that next year . . . shirt, toy, shirt, book, etc. Gregg counted all the gifts under the tree and calculated that we'd have to open a gift every two minutes in order to meet our deadline to sit down for brunch at 11:30, open our ornaments and get ready for my brother, sister, niece, nephew, and girlfriend to join us. Each year I give the kids an ornament that signifies something that they did during the year so that when they put them on their tree next year they can recall fond memories of years' past. Surprisingly CeCe really looked forward to it and loved the little reading owl that she received; this year she's discovered how fun that reading is and is hooked on 'Junie B. Jones' books.
I didn't get a chance to organize my parents' slides; perhaps next year :-) For the second year Carrie won the Zarling Trivia contest and is the honorary 'Zarling of the Year' and proud holder of the honored 'Z' award.
Two more celebrations (Gregg's mom and Uncle David's family) and Christmas will be over; how bittersweet that is. But, I can dream and plan for next year -- I vow to (try and) have all my planning and wrapping done by December 1st so I can take the kids to a Nutcracker performance, go caroling, take the 'Jingle Bell' bus downtown to see the lights, visit the Pabst Mansion to view the decorations, light all the Advent candles (this year I made it past the first one) -- or take it as it comes and seize the moment(s).
2 comments:
It was wonderful! Thank you for the great memories :)
Sounds like you have some fantastic traditions there. Bear & I had a very quiet day @ home, just us. Our first year w/out a kitty, sigh.
Glad to hear you had a happy holiday. A Happy New Year ahead to you too! -Karen
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