Jeremy headed off to work this morning. :o( He'll be back Friday morning (we are praying he doesn't get overtime and have to stay longer.) So, Ben and I get 5 days of Christmas! This morning, my friend Dave is coming to visit (he is in town from North Carolina.) Tonight we have a gourmet dinner at Grandma Nancy's (prepared by my gifted brother, Jason.) Then, Uncle Jason may spend the night with us so he and I can watch Christmas movies and wait for Santa. :o) (He may also stay with Ben while my mom and I go to midnight mass if I can stay awake that long.) For Christmas day we are doing something a little different this year. We are going to go hang out at my sister's house and eat and watch Christmas movies. (Usually we go to my aunt and uncle's house.) Then, Friday as long as Jeremy comes home as planned we are going to celebrate our little family Christmas together. Saturday it is off to Elyria to celebrate with Jeremy's parents'. Finally, on Sunday we are celebrating all together with my parents and siblings. So, we have quite the extravaganza planned to celebrate the birth of Christ!!! :o)
We got Ben many things this year! I didn't realize until we wrapped them last night! Usually, we get one big thing and a few small things. This year it is just a lot of little stuff. So, I pulled some things out of the pile to give him over the next couple of days...we have to pace ourselves as he loses interest after opening a few. I already let him open one from me this morning. :o) See pictures below.
(This next part may be boring for those not in my immediate family.)
I woke up this morning thinking of our Christmas traditions growing up. Every year it was the same. Christmas Eve we went to 5:30 mass and pagent. Each grade (K-12) preformed a song and then a few lucky students acted out the nativity. (I always dreamed of being Mary, alas it never came to be.) The year I remember most was when I was in 1st or 2nd grade and we sang "Away in the Manger." I practiced and practiced using Marsha Brady's rendition as my guide. :o) Anyway, mass always ended with Star of Wonder/We Three Kings. When I heard that song, I got excited because it meant the long mass was over and it was time to head to Grandma's! (It is still one of my favorite songs.) We would ride with my grandparents to their house and my Grandpa would drive around until he saw an airplane and say "there's Santa!!" and it would freak us right out! Grandma always had her house decorated from top to bottom and always made her yummy ham. And, she always made it a point to have each of our favorites on hand. Mine was pickles from Sofo's. Jason's was a bowl of whipped cream, etc... Anyway, Santa would sometimes come and again freak us right out. :o)
On Christmas Eve night, Jason usually came and slept in our room with us. We would lay on Jenny's bed which was next to the chimney and fall asleep with our ears pressed against it, listening for Santa. One year, I remember telling my Dad that I snuck downstairs and saw Santa...I really swore I really saw him.
In the morning, we would wake up and would have to wait at the top of the steps until everyone was up and ready to go down together. My dad would always tease us and say "I have to take a shower first" or "I have to shave." We would go down and rip through a sea of presents...not able to appreciate until now all my parents went through to make it happen. My dad would gnaw down the carrots we left for the reindeer to make it look like they ate them. He'd move all the furniture away from the fireplace and put footprints in the ash. :o)
Two years stand out in my mind the most though. One, my parents bought a ton of stuff from a toy store that went out of business months before Christmas (I learned this years later.) Then, around Christmas time, they got in the spirit of the holiday and bought us more stuff. The entire downstairs of our home was filled with presents. The other year that stands out was when I FINALLY got the kitten I always wanted. I was so happy I let out a loud scream and she jumped into the fireplace! (Roxanne was the best kitty ever.)
On Christmas day it was off to Grandma Sahadi's house where another ton of presents waited for us. My uncles would always try to bribe us to eat weird stuff. One year Uncle Gary offered me $100 to eat a raw oyster...our own private Fear Factor! Then there was the year of the "foot fights." My uncles put my sister and I (in our beautiful red velvet dresses and white tights) on their shoulders and made a game of trying to stuff out feet in each others' mouths. Then, they would tie the feet of our tights together as tight as possible so we couldn't walk. Good times!! They would also have fun with the presents they got us, most of which we were too young for (the inflatable boxing gloves which they used to knock each other out, the spring shoes which we were too young for, but they bounced until the hit the ceiling...) After an elaborate dinner including our Lebanese favorites made by Grandma, the men would fall asleep watching tv while the women cleaned up the mess!!
There are so many more memories I have. The endless searches in the bitter cold for the perfect live Christmas tree (my mom would always search the entire farm and would usually end up choosing one of the first we saw!), making plastic reindeer at Children's Wonderland, waiting in long lines to sit on Santa's lap, the excitement at church and school prepping for the big day, buying my Dad a Harley Davison toe nail clipper at the school Christmas bassar, the good girl/boy star and X charts, listening to the Brady Bunch Christmas album while "ice skating" on the kitchen floor...sigh. :o) We were so fortunate to have all that.
I worry sometimes that we won't have those kind of traditions for Ben. It is hard with Jeremy's work schedule and with Ben not really understanding much of what is going on. But, we are trying. The last couple years, Jeremy has carried on a tradition his father started. He reads "Twas the Night Before Christmas" and Luke?? (my scripture memory is not good) to Ben. I hope this year he sits through it. He has not been into books much lately. We've also started some other traditions, such as getting Ben an ornament each year that reflects his current interests (this year was Cars, of course...and he really enjoys putting them on the tree!) Then, there is the Charlie Brown Christmas which he has loved every year since birth! All we can do is hold on to what we have, enjoy each holiday together and make the most of our time as family. We have much to be thankful for.
Well, I've practically written a book here. I didn't mean to, just a lot on my mind I suppose!
Oh, one more quick story. Ben caught me and Jeremy smooching the other day. He got so excited! He pulled us down to the floor, pushed us together to kiss again, then joined in and smooched us for a three way kiss. It was so sweet! He remembered it and did it again last night as we were all wrestling and playing on our bed. :o)
Ok, I'm really off now. I have to got get us together and ready to see Dave in a couple hours!!!
God bless you all and Merry CHRISTmas!!!
Love,
Julie and the boys
PS - These pictures are of Ben at Children's Wonderland, the new trampoline (from his birthday that we finally put up), and opening his present this morning.
1 comment:
I really enjoyed this post Julie! Kristy & I are reliving all of our stuff too...she's here for the entire weekend! YAY! I know what you mean about making Christmas traditions....but you know, the best ones come from the things that are never planned. As the years go by, things will take on a life of it's own. Even Jeremy's work schedule. Much love to you & your family as you celebrate together! Merry Christmas
Post a Comment