Sunday, December 30, 2012

Christmas: The actual event

We started off the Christmas Vacation time with Church for our Christmas Service – I was the host and our lifegroup was on for coffee so I’d grabbed EggNog and Christmas treats to help make it feel festive downstairs. The service was full of carol’s, skits and lost of celebration - It was great to celebrate with church family before the holidays.



Lyndsay and Jodi sang a beautiful piece



The Mitchell family led us through a fun skit


And the choir led us through a bunch of carol's.


After church we headed back to our house to show David and Carol the house and to pack for 2 nights away at David and Carol’s in Surrey. We headed out there in time for dinner and then over Rum & Eggnog or Amaretto on the rocks while playing a rousing game of Taboo. During the game Paul and David kept being distracted by a rat outside in the backyard that kept stealing the bird feed. So they spent the rest of the evening sitting outside in the cold, whiskey’s and pellet guns in hand, trying to get rid of the pesk. Carol and I sat inside in the warmth, near the fire, chatting. It was a great way to spend Christmas Eve’s Eve.

We woke up at a decent time on Christmas Eve and headed to White Rock to meet up with my parents, my sister and her family and my Grandpa, who lives out in White Rock. I hadn’t seen my grandpa in a year, so it was good to see him at the holidays.

Then I realized that I needed to insure my car and that today was the last day I could before it expired so we rushed to do that (no lines!) and then headed back to the Morgan’s for a lazy afternoon of  naps, conversation, playtime with baby Salem and treats – appies, chocolate and drinks. Baby Salem belongs to Laura and Cory, Paul’s step sister and her husband, who are also friends of ours from church. They now live in Kelowna, so it was great to spend some time with them. Somehow, miracrulously, we weren’t already stuffed  from all the snacking when dinner time came. The family filled the house and Carol had put out an amazing spread and tablescape. Dinner was followed by Presents, stockings, desserts and a rousing game of Cranium, new edition. Love Christmas with the Morgan’s. We finally hit the hay around midnight tired but happy.

Paul and baby Salem


Paul and his Dad "hanging out" on Christmas Eve




Christmas at the Morgan's


Stockings!



Us!



Ted & Doreen or Papa and Nanna



New Cranium with the siblings


Sunday we were awoken bright and early by Salem as he played with his Grandma and Grandpa. After a while he joined us at our bed on the living room floor and we got to enjoy some baby cuddles. We all had a great lazy Christmas breakfast before Paul and I had to head back into Vancouver for more Christmas Day celebrations.  

The rest of Christmas Day was spent with my side of the family – we spend the afternoon at the Maxwell’s – Connor and Austin opened the gifts we gave them, and even got to wake up in the Bunk Beds that Paul and I, along with my parents had gotten for them. It adds so much to Christmas to have little kids there. Austin kept wishing people a “Merry mismas!” So cute!

New Bunkbeds!


New train table


New sheets


Then it was time for naps; the little boys both went down, Jenna, Colin and Paul all took naps at the house, and my parents headed home for theirs. Auntie Lesley and I stayed awake to bake my Christmas gift to her – Almond Roca and Peanut Butter Fudge. She loves eating baking but doesn’t bake herself, so I always give her baking and frozen meals for Christmas and Birthday. She loves it. This year with moving I’d ran out of time to do it before hand, but we had a great time doing it together this year. It was a great connection point.

We then all headed over to the Mitchell’s for the big family dinner  - 22 people, which is smaller than normal, somehow. Dinner was a joint effort, with everybody contributing. There was an amazing amount of food including my favorite, Omi’s perogies and Paul’s favorite, Debbie’s Red Cabbage. Then it was to the living room for conversation and laughter.

At 11pm we sadly left (though we wanted to stay and play Settlers with my cousins) to be responsible – we knew that we had a 6am wake up ahead of us and at least an hour’s worth of work in the house to do before leaving on our 8 hour roadtrip. Sleep was short, the trip across the border was smooth and after a wonderful breakfast stop at McDonalds we’ve been enjoying good conversation and classic rock as we brave the I-5.

Next up, Eugene Oregon with Paul’s mom’s side of the family!

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