A Festivus for the Rest of Us
Christmas this year was so much fun. Here's a little recap of our festivities or our festitvus, as Jerry Seinfeld would say. (We saw the puffy shirt at the National Museum of American History this week, so I'm feeling in a bit of a Seinfeld mood.)
Anyway, recap:
Christmas Eve
We spent Christmas eve day cooking, cooking, cooking. I made 2 apple pies and 2 dozen cinnamon rolls (originally meant for Christmas morning, but it was impossible from keeping the hoards from descending on them). We made a delicious dinner of pyramid potatoes, roasted tenderloin, cranberry salad, corn and rolls. As she always does, Mom set a lovely table and we enjoyed dinner together.
After dinner we read the Polar Express, which is our Christmas tradition. We usually listen to it on tape, but for the first time ever we didn't have access to tape player. Looks like we'll have to catch up with technology for next year and buy the story on CD. In the absence of a tape player, the voice of Liam Neison (the narrator who reads the Polar Express) was played by Lisa Christensen. I'll admit it wasn't quite as good, but I know my kids, so I was able to hold their attention. After the story the girls gave us each a silver bell on a red ribbon, which Grandma had helped them put together.
Next we read the story of the birth of Jesus out of the scriptures. Brynn's little ears perked up at the mention of Bethlehem. "I know that, mom." she said. Sweet.
Finally, we sang a few Christmas songs. Mom has sing along cards from her days hosting huge Christmas parties in Japan, so we used those. Grace was able to read and sing along. The last song we sang was Silent Night. The girls became particularly attached to this song last year and I have sung it to them as a lullaby every night since. You would think my fondness for the song would have been dulled by the repetition, but actually the more I sing it the more special it becomes. Every night for a year, I've sat in their dimly lit bedroom and sang about the holy birth of the Savior and this Christmas whenever I have heard it I've felt the Spirit so strongly. It helps that they both know the words now and sing along whenever they hear it. It was a sweet moment to sit together as a family. I was watching my lovely little Grace. She's growing up fast and getting so beautiful. She was singing every word carefully and with such feeling. Every now and then I am blessed with a moment where I really feel how much the Lord loves me and this was one of those moments.
We tucked the girls into bed in their new Christmas feety pjs, which were absolutely huge! I could have put both of them into one outfit. But they loved them. After they drifted off we finished wrapping a few presents, filled stockings, set everything out and then played American Idol on the Wii, until midnight.
Christmas Day
Thanks to the little girls we had everyone up and in the family room to unwrap presents at the bright and cheery hour of 7 AM. Being such a morning family, I'm sure we were a lovely sight. We unwrapped presents complete with the joke tags that my dad is so famous for. My personal favorite present was a rubber chicken with an Outback Steakhouse gift certificate stapled to its head. The tag on that package said to Chad and Lisa from the USDA "Eat more meat!" While they got many things they were excited about, I think the highlights for the girls were the light sabers and Star Wars dress up outfits each of them received. Grace has literally worn her Darth Vadar cape every moment since she opened it. I let her wear the mask in the house, at the dinner table and in the car, but I make her take it off if we go inside a store. She even wears the cape on the outside of her coat when we are outside. :) Now that's a great gift.
We ate a Christmas breakfast of cinnamon rolls and stratta and then played Guitar Hero World Tour on the Wii. A gift my parents gave to themselves for everyone to enjoy. After a little practice we stopped getting booed off the virtual stage. Let's just say we have some in the family who are natural drummers, some who are actual trained drummers and some who can't seem to feel the beat to save their lives. I'm not naming names or pointing fingers. I'm just making an observational statement of fact.
After a day of playing and resting, we loaded up the cars and drove to the Washington DC temple to see the Christmas lights. We arrived about 30 mins before sunset so we had time to walk through the visitors center. The visitors center has a Christus statue, which is smaller than the one in Salt Lake, but really beautiful. They have displays that talk about Jesus' life, the Book of Mormon and families. There were hundreds of nativities on display, including the Kokeshi nativity set my mom donated. They were also displaying a collection of photography called Reflections of Christ. After the sun set we walked around the temple and looked at the Christmas lights. I was pushing Brynn in the stroller and as we walked I could hear her quietly singing Silent Night. Another sweet moment.
I'm really glad we decided to make an evening at the temple part of our Christmas Day celebration. It was a great way to feel the Spirit and remember why we celebrate Christmas.
And there you have it. Our 2008 Festivus for the Rest of Us. :) I have pics, but I'll have to add them later, so check back for an updated version of this post.
Anyway, recap:
Christmas Eve
We spent Christmas eve day cooking, cooking, cooking. I made 2 apple pies and 2 dozen cinnamon rolls (originally meant for Christmas morning, but it was impossible from keeping the hoards from descending on them). We made a delicious dinner of pyramid potatoes, roasted tenderloin, cranberry salad, corn and rolls. As she always does, Mom set a lovely table and we enjoyed dinner together.
After dinner we read the Polar Express, which is our Christmas tradition. We usually listen to it on tape, but for the first time ever we didn't have access to tape player. Looks like we'll have to catch up with technology for next year and buy the story on CD. In the absence of a tape player, the voice of Liam Neison (the narrator who reads the Polar Express) was played by Lisa Christensen. I'll admit it wasn't quite as good, but I know my kids, so I was able to hold their attention. After the story the girls gave us each a silver bell on a red ribbon, which Grandma had helped them put together.
Next we read the story of the birth of Jesus out of the scriptures. Brynn's little ears perked up at the mention of Bethlehem. "I know that, mom." she said. Sweet.
Finally, we sang a few Christmas songs. Mom has sing along cards from her days hosting huge Christmas parties in Japan, so we used those. Grace was able to read and sing along. The last song we sang was Silent Night. The girls became particularly attached to this song last year and I have sung it to them as a lullaby every night since. You would think my fondness for the song would have been dulled by the repetition, but actually the more I sing it the more special it becomes. Every night for a year, I've sat in their dimly lit bedroom and sang about the holy birth of the Savior and this Christmas whenever I have heard it I've felt the Spirit so strongly. It helps that they both know the words now and sing along whenever they hear it. It was a sweet moment to sit together as a family. I was watching my lovely little Grace. She's growing up fast and getting so beautiful. She was singing every word carefully and with such feeling. Every now and then I am blessed with a moment where I really feel how much the Lord loves me and this was one of those moments.
We tucked the girls into bed in their new Christmas feety pjs, which were absolutely huge! I could have put both of them into one outfit. But they loved them. After they drifted off we finished wrapping a few presents, filled stockings, set everything out and then played American Idol on the Wii, until midnight.
Christmas Day
Thanks to the little girls we had everyone up and in the family room to unwrap presents at the bright and cheery hour of 7 AM. Being such a morning family, I'm sure we were a lovely sight. We unwrapped presents complete with the joke tags that my dad is so famous for. My personal favorite present was a rubber chicken with an Outback Steakhouse gift certificate stapled to its head. The tag on that package said to Chad and Lisa from the USDA "Eat more meat!" While they got many things they were excited about, I think the highlights for the girls were the light sabers and Star Wars dress up outfits each of them received. Grace has literally worn her Darth Vadar cape every moment since she opened it. I let her wear the mask in the house, at the dinner table and in the car, but I make her take it off if we go inside a store. She even wears the cape on the outside of her coat when we are outside. :) Now that's a great gift.
We ate a Christmas breakfast of cinnamon rolls and stratta and then played Guitar Hero World Tour on the Wii. A gift my parents gave to themselves for everyone to enjoy. After a little practice we stopped getting booed off the virtual stage. Let's just say we have some in the family who are natural drummers, some who are actual trained drummers and some who can't seem to feel the beat to save their lives. I'm not naming names or pointing fingers. I'm just making an observational statement of fact.
After a day of playing and resting, we loaded up the cars and drove to the Washington DC temple to see the Christmas lights. We arrived about 30 mins before sunset so we had time to walk through the visitors center. The visitors center has a Christus statue, which is smaller than the one in Salt Lake, but really beautiful. They have displays that talk about Jesus' life, the Book of Mormon and families. There were hundreds of nativities on display, including the Kokeshi nativity set my mom donated. They were also displaying a collection of photography called Reflections of Christ. After the sun set we walked around the temple and looked at the Christmas lights. I was pushing Brynn in the stroller and as we walked I could hear her quietly singing Silent Night. Another sweet moment.
I'm really glad we decided to make an evening at the temple part of our Christmas Day celebration. It was a great way to feel the Spirit and remember why we celebrate Christmas.
And there you have it. Our 2008 Festivus for the Rest of Us. :) I have pics, but I'll have to add them later, so check back for an updated version of this post.
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