Christmas Eve 2010

I can't believe how fast time is flying by. The month of December was so cold, and the Christmas music started playing right after Thanksgiving. I kept receiving different gifts, mostly food, from vendors. The Christmas cards were piling in. But the week of Christmas flew by. Christmas 2010 has already passed us by. Christmas trees are already being taken down. But everyone prior to Christmas was in such good cheer. Wouldn't it be awesome if people were like that year round? Something to think about the next time someone cuts you off on the highway..

I finally got time off for Christmas -- I was able to spend a total of 5 days at home! It was really nice. I had a "slumber party" with my friend Rachel. We slept in separate beds. We attempted to make a ginger bread house. It looked like crap. Literally. We then tried to stay awake to watch Christmas Vacation, but since we're both old farts, we decided to "rest out eyes" instead. She had a blast.

I spent Christmas Eve with my Mom. We did it in style. With Cosmos. My friend Tyler came over, and I made him an extremely girly drink. But it was fun and festive, so I made him try one.

Tyler

Me

Me and Tyler sporting our fabulous Christmas cocktails

I even made my older brother Dan try one. He said he felt like he was on Sex and The City. I made him take a picture, holding the drink, and his dog, with his pinky up. How posh.

Dan and Harley

Christmas Cosmos

Every year, Juan cooks the turkey on the wheel of fire. The whole house just smells like.... deliciousness. Riggs, Enzo, and Harley all desperately hope that Juan drops a piece. Even though Riggs is the smallest, he's also the meanest, and will fight to get a piece of turkey.

Riggs waiting for a piece of turkey to fall

Riggs, Enzo, and Harley patiently waiting

Juan

It's funny. Since I attend church, I'm the designated prayer person. It's just assumed that I say grace before the meals. I'm not sure when this happened, and to be honest, I used to hate saying grace. I wanted to put my pointer finger on my nose and say, "Not it!". But now, I think it's an honor to say the blessing before the meals. I must admit, even though I was home for a mere five days, I found it difficult to switch up my prayers. How many different ways can you really say "thank you"? So on Christmas Eve, the table was set, the food smelled delicious, and we all held hands. As I was praying, I kept trying to think of various things to be thankful for - which doesn't sound hard - but since I had an audience (4 people and 3 dogs), I really felt the pressure. Not to mention, I felt the kitchen table light was directly on me, like a huge spotlight. So I kept listing things we all have to be thankful for -- family, friends, the food, etc. Then I mentioned how I was thankful that we all had jobs during this hard time. We closed with "Amen" and some hand squeezes, and dug into our food. My brother Dan looks at me and says, "Didn't you hear I just got laid off?" We held each other's gazes for which felt like forever, but really only 2 seconds, and both started laughing. Dan is such a jokester and loves to play jokes on me. My heart sank for a split second because I felt horrible! I was so glad he was joking. Such a Dan move... :)

Rick setting the table

Me and Harley

Rick and me

Me and Juan

Me and Mom

Most families have some sort of Christmas traditions. Pulling apart the wish bone with Juan is one of ours. Every Christmas, after the turkey is cooked, Juan cleans off the wish bone, and we both take a side and pull. I've won every year so far :)

Getting ready...

Pulling...

I won!

This Christmas was awesome. I didn't enjoy all the snow because I started to get cabin fever. But it was fun spending time with my mom and Juan. Rick and Dan were snowed in at their homes. But Dan made sure to leave Harley with me -- I'm pretty sure Harley wants to move to Richmond! I am so thankful to have such a loving family. Yeah, we're a little quirky, but there's no doubt in my mind we'll always be there for each other. I am thankful for the house over our heads, and the food that was prepared. But most of all, I am thankful for the birth of Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas ya'll!