As always we have had a Christmas Eve activity here at Oak Valley Drive. For the past several years we have had a Christmas Eve surrey ride. This year it was so stormy and windy that we decided that it would be unwise. Nevertheless, Grannie and Granddad came over for Christmas Eve dinner and our Christmas devotional. They arrived at about three thirty and we visited and then watched a DVD –The Stonecutter. This was not a Christmas DVD, but it had a wonderful message, and it had been a Christmas gift. Then we put on dinner and ate in the dining room, decorated for Christmas. K.C., Peter and Erika were present for this, as well as the Gates grandparents. It was a traditional dinner, with turkey, dressing, potatoes, green beans, a jelled salad and rolls. For dessert we had chocolate pound cake with chocolate chip mint ice cream and chocolate sauce. After dinner and dessert we had our Christmas devotional, which included Christmas missionary memories of Peter, K.C. and Granddad, and Christmas caroling, Erika playing the piano, Paul playing the guitar and the rest of us singing. (Some numbers were better than others.) K.C. had a version of the Christmas story from Luke and Matthew on his Ipod and we listened to it, and just as things were winding down, Philip and Camille arrived. They had their Christmas Eve with Camille’s family but then came over so that we could celebrate Christmas morning together. Camille had to work at 12:00 noon until 6:00 p.m. on Christmas Day so they came so that they could have Christmas morning with us. After the Christmas Scripture story we had hot chocolate. Paul gave one gift to everyone on Christmas eve. There were gift certificates for everyone. We shared our week at Westgate with Grannie and Granddad, Peter and Philip and Camille, and Erika and K.C. got ski passes. Then Grannie and Granddad left. (One of the changes that we made this year, was that we didn’t read, A Visit from St. Nicholas—it will be saved to be used when there are grandchildren; we have no more children at home now.)
Another change that we made this year was that Santa didn’t come to our house. All the gifts were wrapped this year and placed under the tree. Paul did the majority of the wrapping starting in the afternoon and then doing more wrapping while I was cleaning up the kitchen. We got to bed about 12:30p.m.
Paul was the first one up on Christmas morning, he left to go feed the horses and I got up and set up the table for Christmas breakfast and did some of the preliminary stuff. When Paul got home, and the children began to wander in, we went into the living room to begin unwrapping gifts. We were able to unwrap for about a half an hour then had a break for breakfast (Breakfast Sausage Pie—a great recipe, but the sausage was too spicy). After breakfast the unwrapping began again. The four children surprised me with season tickets to Hale Theatre, and Paul got us a set of Adirondack chairs for the patio.
Everyone got some nice gifts and we were very contented and happy. I think everyone felt that they got things that they wanted and needed.
Camille gave the accessory that provided the best photo opportunity for Christmas morning. And the pictures of the children in their ‘do rags” were fun to take and funny to look at.
Later in the afternoon we headed off to Grannie and Granddad’s house for Christmas dinner with Stephen and Steve. Grannie, or course put on a great spread—this time ham and all the fixings and eggnog mouse for dessert. We exchanged gifts with Stephen and Steve—I had made a quilt with Nancy’s T-shirts with a matching pillow, and I had tickets for the Hale Theater, a family photo, cookbook and CD of Cowboy Poetry for Grannie and Granddad. I thought that we would probably play a game of charades, but we just visited and left in a significant snowstorm and arrived home tired, but happy.
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