Merry Christmas

So... last year I didn't even post about Christmas. I think the thought was too overwhelming... all the events, people, and pictures. So my solution? No pictures for now, I will post the highlights, and try not to leave anything or anyone out... but if I do... sorry!
This year for Christmas Eve/ Christmas morning we had Mike's entire family over.
This started with a transformation of my girls' bedrooms. I put down their bunk-beds, pushed them together, and put air-mattresses on top. I put sheets on the air-mattresses and called it good. I really wished we had at least one guest bedroom... but I'm not going to complain about having 'extra' bedrooms.. because I'm blessed to have the rooms we do for the kids.
So 'Mr. & Mrs. Sweetie' slept in the younger two's room, 'Mr. & Mrs. Red Bull' slept in the older girls' room, and 'Big's Momma' slept on the floor of the office. Big's Momma has a pretty serious boyfriend, so he came and went over the three days they were here.
We got together Christmas Eve night, and enjoyed some fabulous fondue... like The Melting Pot quality fondue. Who would have thought that pricey cheese and wine cooked in a pot could taste so divine?! They're onto something with that whole 'wine and cheese' thing!
We read Christmas stories and Luke 2. Mike's family has a tradition to read a certain Christmas story every year. It was a favorite of Mike's Mom. We also read the poem 'Christmas in Heaven' with made most of us cry... or at least tear up. Then Mike and his sis (Mrs. Red Bull) shared their feelings on the family getting together, and how close we have gotten over the past year.
Mike's parents passed away a few years ago, and we really drifted away from his siblings. It's funny how much parents hold a family together. Over the past year or two we grew much closer. Mr. Red Bull (our BIL) had a bad accident, and suffered a severe head injury. I think it took an event like that to make us realize how important Mike's family is to us.
I think that for a long time, we just didn't have a lot in common, and we felt very different. Sometimes we still feel a bit like the 'odd man out', but I think that our differences don't have to stand in the way of our relationships.
With that said...
We used to be closer to my side of the family... and over the past few years, we've drifted further and further away from them. I used to feel like my family was super close, and we were all so much alike. As the years pass, we become more and more different from each other. There have been some major events and hurtful things said that have put some major barriers between us. And as much as we try to pretend that they aren't there... it's that 'elephant in the room' type thing. I know that for me personally, I have had to put my guard up, and I have to walk on eggshells. It feels as if everyone is afraid of one anther's judgment... and nobody can accept help from each other, because that would be a sign of weakness. And none of us have weaknesses, because we are all perfect. And those dynamics don't make for very close relationships. We have to keep a certain distance to protect ourselves. Anyways... enough about all of that...
I couldn't help but think about how proud Mike's Mom would be to see all of us together like that. I can't image a better Christmas gift to her.
On Christmas Eve, all the kids slept together on the balcony. (This was a tradition from when I was little. My grandparents had a balcony and a huge Christmas tree. So we slept on the balcony overlooking the tree, hoping to catch a glimpse of Santa... after all, he was right under our noses!)
The kids woke up fairly late Christmas morning... like 8-ish. So we opened gifts and headed over the "Gee G-ma's" house for breakfast. This is a tradition of their family's... all the men make Christmas breakfast. So we saw some of Mike's extended family, and visited. Some of his family... namely one of his aunt's has really been awful towards us since Mike's Dad passed away. It's been super strange and awkward, so we had a good cue of when it was our time to go.
We headed over to see "G-Kit" but she would answer her phone... so we decided to try again the next day.
So we went to see Papa-Bear and Grandest-mah. Grandma Sha-la-la was there too... so that's was nice to squeeze her in. (in the mean time... Mike's family is just chillin' at our house... waiting for us to get home) So the girls opened aprons from Grandest-mah. Who, by the way, fits that perfect 'grandma' mold with homemade gifts every year, cookies all year round, and soft hugs and kind words every time you see her. I just love that lady! I hope to someday be just a smidgen of what she is.
It was strange to see my Mom alone on Christmas day. She dropped my sister off at her Dad's house, and went to my Grandparents house. But it never occured to me that in the not-so-distant-future she could be totally alone every other Christmas. That's terrible!
So back to the house. All the kids played with their toys... Mike and I spent the day opening those horrible boxes, trying to remove dolls and things tied to cardboard with those evil twisty ties. Argh! We were setting things up, I was trying to set up the Wii. (Yes, we finally joined the rest of the world and broke down into video game submission. There's a long story about that... but I'll have to save it for another post) After feeling like a complete loser, I got it set-up. My cute nephew thinks I'm an idiot... "Where am I supposed to plug the paddle in? There's only one port?"... "I need stickers or something so I can keep track of which paddle is #1, #2, etc."... needless to say he kept looking at me and saying "You can go get my Dad, he'll set it up in 5 minutes." No, no... I like to think I'm smarter that I look. I can set up a freakin' game!
Truthfully, I could have spent the entire day creating Wii characters. I would like to thank the creators of the Wii for pointing out the option to personalize my Mii in such detail. I mean, how would you know it was me if it weren't for my wide-set huge eyes, mole above my lip, and the extra 20 pounds on my frame. "Oh! Look... it's Mom!" Yup.
After an amazing Beef Wellington dinner and a crazy competitive game of 'spoons', everyone spent the night again.
The next day Mr. & Mrs. Red Bull went home fairly early, and Big's Momma followed shortly after. Then... drumroll please... I did something I had never done in my life. I sat down and played a video game for 8 hours straight! That's right, I went from never playing before, to becoming strangely addicted in a matter of minutes. Mr. & Mrs. Sweetie played Mario Bros. with Mike and I. All four of us playing at the same time. Trying not to die, while jumping on each others heads, waiting for each other, and our poor husbands dealing with our uncontrollable laughing and lack of 'Nintendo' knowledge.
It was so much fun, I would have never thought playing that game would be so fun. My stomach ached from laughing so hard!
They went home late that night, and we acknowledged our children once again. Actually it was perfect, they were so enthralled with their new toys, they didn't mind us leaving them to their playing all day.
It was a great Christmas! We've been nothing but lazy since. Pajamas all day long. Dinner for breakfast, and breakfast for dinner. Sweets and hot chocolate anytime day or night. And today... more snow. These are the things memories are made of!
I kind of look forward to a normal regimen next week, but I kinda don't! I'll miss having Mike home all day, and I'll have to count my points... get dressed, put on make-up... clean and cook. It was a great year, and I'm starting to think about New Years resolutions. But for today, I'll make cinnamon rolls with the girls and try to stay warm in my jammies and slippers. Merry Christmas!