Christmas Day
The whole house was thankful that Elena was not a little bit older...old enough to know what was coming. We slept until 8:30 am! Elena rewarded her parents with the best Christmas gift ever, she woke up in the best mood and spent morning cuddle time kissing and hugging us. The trees were still covered in snow and it had a real feeling of Christmas. Jake, Elena and I took our traditional (started when Jake and I got married) Christmas morning walk. Elena actually walked for about 200 meters of it! In her snow boots, stomping the edge of the snow bank.
We returned to a wonderful Christmas morning brunch with the traditional Sewall Family Kringle and mimosas. It was around noon before we even got around to opening presents. I thought of my brother, Seth, would would have been outside banging his head against the house if he had to wait that long!
To help pass the time, Elena took off on her 4 wheeler and announced, "Move! Grandpa!' Nana, toes, move.' whenever someone got in her way. Eventually she loaded on some farm animals. Bunny was involved in a tragic accident, but after a ICU hug recovered quickly and appears to be in just fine health now.
The business of opening presents was serious, mostly handing them out was. Once elena figured out that the presents under the tree were supposed to be dispensed, it was random chance which one you received. It was a little bit of a strange Christmas for us.
We had received many generous presents beforehand, so the movers could pack them. And since everything that we received has to fit in our luggage, and everything we needed, we had to receive, there were not as many suprises as there usually are. Plus, Jake and I in a fit of practically (and perhaps exhaustion) decided not to get each other presents this year for Christmas. Which was a great idea at the time, but a little sad in reality. There were some very nice suprises. Elena received many sweet presents including books, stickers, a stuffed horse, warm clothes (and not to mention the four wheeler running down stray stuffed animals!). Richard picked out a small, beautiful watercolor by Barbara Kirstead that will fit perfectly in our bag and make us feel more at home. Jake and I received the lastest KGSR CD to christen the new Utrecht flat with a bit of Texas tunes.
Christmas dinner was a grand affair, roast beef with crowns (well, we wore the crowns!).
The traditional Dinny favors were a big hit this year, plastic cubes that flashed with you smacked them. Elena had two pieces of raspberry linzentort (hey, it's Christmas!) for dessert.
It was sad because Johnny and Sarah had to leave to drive back. Johnny in his 'ed uck' (red truck) and 'ahra car' (Sarah car). Elena waved goodbye to both of them and drifted off to sleep telling us about Jon's truck and Sarah going 'outside' to her car. In a heart breaking moment, she said, 'lena, sad.' And it was sad to see them go.
But now it is Christmas Day night. The house is quiet. We have loads of laundry in. I can already feel the transition of tomorrow. A day of errands and packing. I'm looking at a huge mound of stuff and thinking about our bags. Will it all fit? Or perhaps more to the point, how much of it won't fit?
We returned to a wonderful Christmas morning brunch with the traditional Sewall Family Kringle and mimosas. It was around noon before we even got around to opening presents. I thought of my brother, Seth, would would have been outside banging his head against the house if he had to wait that long!
To help pass the time, Elena took off on her 4 wheeler and announced, "Move! Grandpa!' Nana, toes, move.' whenever someone got in her way. Eventually she loaded on some farm animals. Bunny was involved in a tragic accident, but after a ICU hug recovered quickly and appears to be in just fine health now.The business of opening presents was serious, mostly handing them out was. Once elena figured out that the presents under the tree were supposed to be dispensed, it was random chance which one you received. It was a little bit of a strange Christmas for us.
We had received many generous presents beforehand, so the movers could pack them. And since everything that we received has to fit in our luggage, and everything we needed, we had to receive, there were not as many suprises as there usually are. Plus, Jake and I in a fit of practically (and perhaps exhaustion) decided not to get each other presents this year for Christmas. Which was a great idea at the time, but a little sad in reality. There were some very nice suprises. Elena received many sweet presents including books, stickers, a stuffed horse, warm clothes (and not to mention the four wheeler running down stray stuffed animals!). Richard picked out a small, beautiful watercolor by Barbara Kirstead that will fit perfectly in our bag and make us feel more at home. Jake and I received the lastest KGSR CD to christen the new Utrecht flat with a bit of Texas tunes.Christmas dinner was a grand affair, roast beef with crowns (well, we wore the crowns!).
The traditional Dinny favors were a big hit this year, plastic cubes that flashed with you smacked them. Elena had two pieces of raspberry linzentort (hey, it's Christmas!) for dessert. It was sad because Johnny and Sarah had to leave to drive back. Johnny in his 'ed uck' (red truck) and 'ahra car' (Sarah car). Elena waved goodbye to both of them and drifted off to sleep telling us about Jon's truck and Sarah going 'outside' to her car. In a heart breaking moment, she said, 'lena, sad.' And it was sad to see them go.
But now it is Christmas Day night. The house is quiet. We have loads of laundry in. I can already feel the transition of tomorrow. A day of errands and packing. I'm looking at a huge mound of stuff and thinking about our bags. Will it all fit? Or perhaps more to the point, how much of it won't fit?
posted by Erin K. | 4:48 PM
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