Saturday, January 1, 2011

The Christmas Report

Frankly, December was tough for me:  too much to do, too little sun, too difficult 2 year old, too much eating.  But…

Christmas was really lovely.  It was the first Christmas that we’ve ever spent with just our little (big?) family and it was nice to just connect and enjoy each other on that level. 

We all donned the obligatory Christmas attire and headed out for our restaurant-and-a-movie Christmas Eve tradition. 

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The restaurant was so kid friendly and pretty low stress.

 

XmasEve

Faith found a boyfriend there:

FLunchDate

 

We watched Tangled for our movie and I concur with everyone else:  super great. 

We went to the Daines for our Bethlehem night tradition: bathrobe Bethlehem attire, candlelight, fish, pitas, hummus, no utensils, silly cousins. 

FNativity

We did a ridiculously irreverent Nativity Play and opened PJs and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.

XmasEvePJsXmasEve2

We love the easy-going familiarity and good spirit we feel when we’re with the Daines.

Christmas morning was early for us. 

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We’d bargained 6:00 am with Gabe and at 5:45 we got a knock on our door “Um.  I know you said 6:00, but I thought you’d want time to comb hair and take pictures, so I thought I’d make sure you had 15 minutes.”  Thanks, Gabe.

Seth won for Most Enthusiastic during present opening.

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…especially when the whale/dolphin pillow pet made it’s appearance near the end.  He was sweating that one.  We finally got a Wii and though the big kids found out about it early (such a bummer to not get a Pay-off Reaction for such a begged for present!), it’s been the most popular present by a mile.

We spent the day playing games, watching movies, taking a chilly walk, doing puzzles. 

GiiXmasSeth

I didn’t make any special Christmas meal on the 25th (I was tired of spending my holidays in the kitchen!), so I made our “fancy” meal the next day (Sunday). 

I honestly couldn’t imagine that the grouchiness and stress of the first few weeks of the month would go away, but it did and paid off in a sweet, easy, blessed holiday with my favorite people in the world.

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12 comments:

Lindsey said...

Looks lovely Jessica! It is fun to see your cute family growing so big! :)

Tristan said...

Looks like an awesome Christmas!! I love that Gabe was thoughtful enough to give you 15 minutes ;-)

Carie said...

Of course Seth gave the biggest reaction. My kids talk about Seth a lot. (and all your kids come to think of it.)

Looks like a very Merry Christmas.

Linsey said...

We didn't travel for Christmas either, it's so much more restful that way.

Looks like a very, merry Christmas at the Romney house.

Adrianne said...

Eliminating travel definitely eliminates stress. And we opened presents alone which was great. Next year I think I'll skip the rushing out the door to eat breakfast with everyone part and just stay home and play with my kids.

Jenibelle said...

I have to brag...we woke our teenagers up at 9:00. Ah, one of the ONLY benefits of aging children.

Our boys got a PS3...didn't see them all day.

Your kids just get more and more adorable. I am coveting that little Seth.

Tammy said...

so glad you had a nice Christmas at HOME!! Sorry it was stressful...and tough. :( I think there is something special to just being with those closest, and having some down time.....You guys are adorable.

Rochelleht said...

Looks like a blast. I agree that the stress can be overwhelming at the holidays some times, but isn't it amazing how it all melts away on Christmas, no matter what? How's that for a run-on sentence?

Brooke Romney said...

Looks great. Love the out to dinner tradition. Hooray for no more kitchen time!

Lauren in GA said...

I am sorry about the too little sun...Mike gets seasonal affective disorder...it is one of the perks of living in Georgia...he still gets it but not for nearly as long as he did in Virginia.

I loved reading this report because I love your family. That picture of Faith with her boyfriend is hilarious. She already has that, "over the shoulder smile at the camera pose" down!

I love all of your traditions.

Thank goodness that the pillow pet arrived. I know your joy boy Seth had to be such a joy to watch.

Yes, Gabe is so thoughtul to make sure you had that extra 15 minutes to prepare.

Jake said...

Glad you survived! Here's hoping your kids start school this week and the sun shines for days and days...

Shopper Gal said...

Do any of your kids use the art stools?!?! HA I love your family, I can just hear Seth now, with all of his cute enthusiasm. So precious, what a brilliant Christmas!