Our tradition for all our 20 years in Maryland was to take a picture of all the Christmas participants in the home on the stairs before anyone went to the tree. One cute story was the year Claude and I had Christmas with just us and no family. I took a picture of the empty stairs and share it with all not there. Point made!! We tried this year to get the kids and grandmonsters in the picture. Nissa got there as Bailey melted down so I'm posting 2 pictures, one without Nissa and one with Nissa.
Then everyone was entered the living room and found a spot for themselves so the festivities could begin. Stockings first...
Traditionally I always handed out the gifts from under the tree. Claude, traditionally took what our family fondly calls 'the butt shot' of mom rummaging under the tree. Thankfully there was no butt shot taken the couple of years. And I have had grandmonster helpers to hand out the gifts. Katelyn and Grampa have decreed that next year Katelyn should take my place. I must be getting older or something. I thought I was doing a great job. But we can pass along the duties to the next...well we're skipping a generation here...but, anyway, next generation. You will note that Mimi is not in the pictures here. Papa came out early and opened presents. We saved all of Mimi's gifts until he brought her out in the afternoon for her visit and dinner with us. After stockings we open gifts. Since this is my blog, I'm going to try and find pictures of things I made for Christmas gifts...This year I had a ton of things I really wanted to make for gifts. So I determined that come heck or high-water I was going to make them. When you are retired you should be able to accomplish some of the things you couldn't always do when you were working full-time. So this was my year to do that. However, I didn't get started until the end of October and I'm still working on finishing the final one. Katelyn has in her lap her crocheted backpack purse. I made her and Aubrey each a purse. Bailey is opening her plastic canvas doll house. It has a cradle, high chair, rocking horse and 2 sock dolls inside. It closes up with a velcro clasp. When you open it a little fence and front yard space fold out. I made Katelyn one when she was little that the kids still play with. Hayden and I are sitting on his quilt made out of neckties that Claude and Michael used for work. I made Hayden and Paul each a tie-quilt. I also made Jake a quilt using his old t-shirts he had saved. I made Nissa curtains with apple appliques for her kitchen window. I also finished a plastic canvas door with ornaments you attach to it for the holidays. Mimi made the door and that was a far as she got. I found her pattern and made the ornaments. For each of the grandmonsters and for Mimi I made a calendar with pictures I had taken of each child through 2008 on each month page. I made Bonnie 2 candles with pictures of the family taken while she was here in June 2008. My last homemade gift this year is for Mimi. I used computer software and using a picture of Tiny it made a cross-stitch pattern of Tiny's face. I have just 2 colors to have it finished with waste canvas on a sweatshirt. That my friends was a lot of work but I totally enjoyed every minute of it and it was really fun to have my family open some homemade happiness this Christmas.
We finished Christmas morning with a nice breakfast of muffins, bacon and fruit cups. Papa left us to go home for a nap. Claude checked his smoker where he was making a brisket for dinner and we settled into enjoying gifts and sharing time together...next post...
Papa brought Mimi out and we had a great dinner of ham and smoked beef brisket. Then we opened Mimi's presents with her before it was time to say good-bye to her so Papa could take her back to the nursing home.
