Christmas

I know that it's a little bit past Christmas but I'm finally getting into catching up on my blog!  This year we were unsure when my parents were going to be back from CO so we did Christmas at Ingrid's.  I'm not going to lie I was dreading it a bit... I wasn't very excited to go there at all.  It's hard for me to get excited to go there and do Christmas with her because I know that, to her, Christmas is all about the cultural experience.  The buying a ton of gifts (a lots of things you don't actually need) decorating your house with every little trinketing thing you can find that screams Christmas and having everything just 'perfect' and if it's not having a huge hissy.  This is how its been the past couple of Christmas... and its hard being at her house because she never had small children there so why would it be child friendly?  With all that said, it was really well.  We prayed extra hard on the drive out there and it was an immediate answer.

The drive there... well, that's a bit of a funny story in itself.  As I've said before poor Duder was so sick but he was a champ about it.  When we got closer Zoe wanted us to text to let her know so that she could make sure that Sophie (their dog) was gone and she was going to try and baby proof the house a little bit.  Bless her heart for doing it... and it was nice because by the time we got there Ingrid was a bit more under control.  Apparently, she wasn't real thrilled that Zoe put some decorations away (because they were fragile or easily broken and could hurt the kids) because she had "put so much time and energy into decorating..." never mind the fact that it could potentially harm her grandchildren... But we got there and all was well.  We did bring some food (we learned from last time) and I think Zoe was happy because we made it specifically vegetarian for her.  It was nice because Zoe kept her in line and when she would get either too hyped up or started stressing about who knows what, she could calm her down.  We just hung out mostly, ate and opened some presents.  This year was nice because we all kinda got one big thing and maybe a few small things.  Nothing real over the top.  It was probably the nicest Christmas I could ever have hoped to have there.  I know it probably sounds terrible that I have such low expectations when we go over there, but I like to be pleasantly surprised when it's different than I anticipate.  I also know that God had a HUGE part in it.

The plan was to go to my parent's house the next day and do Christmas there but everybody was really sick, and honestly, we need a day of recovery when we visit Ingrid at her house.  When my parents do Christmas it's the most laid back sort of Christmas ever.  And this is how I like it.  Nothing real crazy, of course we do presents and things, but it's mostly just hanging out with each other and that's the type of thing we like.  It was nice this year because Jon and his new wife Megan were there and I think it was nice for them to be around some calmness.

The kids got some really cute presents this year.  Mike's mom, Phyllis, got the kids both something they loved.  Usually we are anti-noise/battery operated things (because they're obnoxious!) but these were good.  Lucy got a crawling ball and duder got a little kid laptop.  Ingrid got Duder a puzzle and this curious George kaleidoscope and Lucy these plastic bowling pins and ball.  Mom and Dad got Tristan this Sushi kit (which is a lot of fun to play with I have to admit), and these mix and match ice cream cones that helps teach colors.  Lucy got a first little baby doll and this cute little tea set.  It's nice that they seem to like each other's toys so its like they got double!  haha.

Something that happened that was a little unexpected, but everything turned out all right, was that turning into my parent's driveway Gaetan slid into the ditch.  Now, it doesn't sound like that big of a deal but there is a pond there... luckily they weren't in the water and the kids were good.  We called a tow truck and got it out.  Duder was less than thrilled to get into the car on the ride home... he kept telling us that the car hit a tree and that Lucy was scared.  But we got over that fear and he's good with the car now.

Christmas this year was good and I hope that we can continue some good traditions in our household.  I love spending time with family and I know that it can be a downer during the holidays (especially if you're not particularly fond of your family) but there is always something to be learned and there is always grace to be given.

JVG