...continuing from the previous post. Wednesday morning, Greg and I made farm fresh eggs (courtesy of Mom & Dad T.) with toast for breakfast. Then we joined Mom E. in the waiting game for everyone else to either wake up or arrive. Grandma and Grandpa arrived soon, around lunch time, followed by Ryan, Christina, and Eowyn arriving by mid afternoon. It was wonderful to see everyone and to visit for a while. After Ryan, Nathan, and Mr. Bill got back from seeing the movie, Avatar; we had Ryan and Christina open their gifts as they were leaving the next day to visit with Christina's family for Christmas. It took us a while to finish dinner and get ready for gift sharing, but in the meantime Greg and I were able to teach Grandma, Grandpa, and Courtney how to play Skip-Bo. Then when were we all gathered and ready to go, Ryan and Christina opened their gifts from the family. Greg and I especially had fun watching them open the Steelers and Redskins baby gear we'd gotten for Eowyn. =) It was great to see the blessings that everyone shared with them. After that, Greg got to hold his baby niece for a few minutes and then it was time for bed. Thursday morning, we slept in a short bit, made breakfast, and got ready to send off Ryan and Christina for Christmas. Unfortunately at the time, Greg and I didn't know that they'd be joining the rest of the family for lunch out later that day. That said, when we found out we were grateful to be able to spend some more time with them before they headed out and so we got ready for lunch. Around 2:30pm the whole family minus a very sick Courtney had a late lunch at Cracker Barrel and then went back to Mom & Mr. Bill's house to see Ryan and Christina safely off. Poor Eowyn was not happy at having to wait in the car seat while Mommy & Daddy packed things to hit the road, though she perked up at and smiled at the attention from her Grandmother and Great-Grandmother while she waited. In the end, she had to come out of her car seat for a diaper change having just ate at the restaurant; which gave everyone one last chance to hold her before they hit the road. We saw Ryan and Christina off for South Carolina and then all rushed to change clothes in order to make the 4:30pm Christmas Eve Service. It was a beautiful service, and for me was the big hit that it was truly Christmas in midst of the world and it's trials and stresses. After getting back from the service we called Mom T. and Jay who was with her at the time to wish my family a Merry Christmas before their annual Christmas eve gathering. Then Greg and I passed around the Carmel snack mixed we'd made for everyone and it was game time. Grandpa, Grandma, Nathan, Courtney, Greg, and I played Skip-bo and Balderdash the rest of the evening. The highlight for us was having everyone in stitches while playing Balderdash. I don't think that I've ever seen Grandpa laugh as hard as when he had to read the word "collywobbles," which by the way, means stomach ache. It was a wonderful, laid back, and laughter filled Christmas eve. Christmas Day after everyone had woken up, we gathered for the traditional exchanging of Christmas gifts. Greg read the Christmas story from Luke 2, and then we opened our gifts. I was especially excited that Mom and Grandma liked Saturday morning we got up and packed things to go while Mom E. made a pancakes for breakfast. After sharing breakfast with Mr. Bill and Grandpa, we packed up our car, said our fare thee wells, and hit the road again for our 10 trip back to Northern Virginia. Thankfully traffic flow and weather were both on our side so that were were able to safely make good time home. All in all we'd had a wonderful visit complete with yummy cookies, Grandpa's fudge, and lots of quality family time. |
|||