A Merry Christmas

2010 Polar Bear Club (predunking)- Andy, Robert, Zach, Adam

Well, the birdhouse felting and shipments of socks finally got finished and it was time for one of our favorite nights of the whole year... Christmas Eve. A tradition was born many years ago and was reborn last year of jumping into the icy lake beside my parents home. (No, I didn't participate, though I have in the far past!). Doesn't every family celebrate Christmas this way? First, the guys had to do lots of chanting loudly to get themselves psyched up. They planned their route to the water and back carefully, as there was literally just a small area that was unfrozen!

I hope you'll enjoy this short video of the event! Things were somewhat more subdued after that, and unfortunately our daughter wasn't feeling well and was very quiet for the evening.

Our son Robert had the honor of reading the story of Jesus' birth from the family Bible.

We told lots of good stories and jokes, sang some carols, ate a wonderful meal, and then even did a bit of karaoke.

(Robert was the hit there, as he ad libbed Deck the Halls and had everyone in stitches.)

Munchie was dressed up in Santa attire, and he and my brother's cat Joe got along great as always. My brother Andy read us some great poetry, we opened gifts, there was a small wrestling match, and good memories were made! Our family has so much to be thankful for, and I'm looking forward to more time with them on our upcoming ski adventure!

Sushi dressed up for Christmas this year, too, and he's very proud to have launched his very own Facebook page- check it out!

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Some Christmases...

Every year, or at least those since I've reached my 40's, I say "no stress this year, we'll keep the emphasis on the reason for the season and won't get caught up in lots of the other stuff." Some years we hit the mark better than others.... like the times we've served food at the homeless shelter, taken meals to a lonely neighbor, etc.This year, for whatever reason, it just seems like there were too many "have to's" to enjoy Christmas properly. We did have a lovely time with my stepson Jason and his fiancee, Crystal, and I could feel myself relaxing a bit. But, I found myself being very short-tempered with the kids and super impatient. I didn't find time to contribute in ways I would have liked. I'm sure that having our hands full with a bottle cria and other farm needs have contributed to this, which is just part of having animals and pretty unavoidable.
I wrote the above portions BEFORE heading off to Ohio for my parent's Christmas Eve celebration.... what a difference a day or two makes!My parents always find great ways to make our holiday so memorable... this year as with many we started off with a reading of the Christmas story, with our kids and neices and nephews reading from the family Bible my parents were given when they married nearly 59 years ago.
My brother Andy, always eager to contribute something creative, read a beautiful Wendell Berry poem and my brother Greg actually asked him to repeat it, he liked it so much! I didn't catch the title, but the gist of it was... "all we need is right here." We shared silly stories and memories, discussed how weird we all are (or at least some of us), the guys all wrestled, we ate tons of great food, and nobody wanted to leave. We all discussed how we feel the spirit of my brother, Mike, when we are all together (and sometimes other times as well), and of course we missed Lauren, JP, Crystal and Melody.
I'm truly looking forward to some relaxation during the rest of our holiday season, and I hope that you are able to as well. Merry Christmas! Pin It Now!