1.08.2013

Laughs, Chocolate, Traditions, Family, and the Birth of a Baby


Christmas Eve we traditionally indulge in fondue.  This year was no exception, with the cheese fondue preceding our amazing Christmas Eve service, and the chocolate fondue kicking off the rest of the evening's festivities!  No laughter was had when angel food cake refused to stay on the fondue fork, let me tell you!

 Another Christmas Eve tradition: opening up a gift of pajamas!


 I'm realizing we have a lot of traditions: this is our traditional pajama pose.  Then I had a brilliant idea: "Okay, guys, now we need to pretend like we are going to drop her.  Ready?"  

From left: Susanna, Mikaela, Jonah, Lauren, and Micah.  Melanie is the lucky one being dropped! 

 Christmas morning dawned cold but clear, and Mikaela discovered the pickle ornament in the tree, which bestowed on her the privilege of opening the first gift!  (Another tradition!)


 Our gift-unwrapping system is slow and methodical: age order, and one at a time!


 Uncle Dan and Aunt Linda joined us for Christmas Eve and stayed until the day after Christmas!  We were so thrilled to have them here, and we fit in much memory-making and chatting in between all the festivities!



Jonah: C'mon, open it up and see what I got you!
Micah: Ooooh!  What's this?  (They were cleats!) 



 
I am sniffing delectable tea, a gift from Mama and Papa!


 Jonah received a train set, and wasted no time in reading the manual like a novel and 
assembling it like a pro!

Susanna models her gifts!

A pre-dinner game of Monopoly monopolized much of the family's time.  We had never owned the "original" Monopoly, only the Seattle version.  So playing this version was quite the education for some of my siblings!


The feast is prepared!  Roasted winter vegetables, creamy mashed potatoes, focaccia bread, roasted garlic cauliflower, honey ham, and several other dishes overflowed our plates!



I hope you had a Merry Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior!  This Christmas our family focused on why He came: our own desperate sin; our own lost state without Him.  For His salvation, I will rejoice and celebrate Christmas every day of the year!  How's your Christmas spirit today?

4 comments:

  1. Fun-fun! You make me miss chocolate fondue...we haven't had it for the past several years. :(

    Love Mika's face in the first "dropping" picture. hehehe.

    Your meal looks delish - thanks for sharing all the pix! (Um, yeah, the ones of people, too!)

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  2. Love how you guys celebrate! So many special traditions to look forward to. :) Where are your favorite places to get pajamas? What kinds of things go in the stockings?

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  3. Sarah--We should have a chocolate fondue party sometime, sounds like! Mikaela's face is priceless, I've got to say!
    Victoria--We definitely love our traditions! (-; We usually read Advent, too, and this year Papa read one by John Piper that was amazing--you would really love it! We always get pjs on Black Friday--usually Target, but this year was Penneys. The guys' pjs were from Fred Meyer. Stockings are usually filled with practical little things, candy, nuts, a pomegranate, and some frilly fun stuff! So perfume, toothbrush, hair brush, and lip balm all made it into mine! We are definitely blessed! I'd love to hear about your traditions--what are some of your favorites?

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  4. Lauren, what were you reading by John Piper? I am SURE that I would have loved it, whatever it was. :)

    I look forward to seeing what PJS you all receive each year. Thanks for the tip to great places to find cute ones!

    Our Christmas traditions are always changing....I look forward to decorating the day after thanksgiving and shopping with my Mom for the stocking stuffers. Those two things (almost) never change! We also have waffles with whipped cream and strawberry's for breakfast on Christmas morning.

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