This year Christmas was different for Peter and I. For starters - it came a day later than it usually has. That's OK, since basically we had two slower weeks in the office that made everything feel mumble-jumble anyway! We had the kids around on Christmas Day in the evening and then on Boxing Day we had our "Christmas Day". Christmas Eve, Eric & Becky arrived in time to go to church with us. We had a good service and then in the remainder of the evening we had coffee and spent time together.
On Christmas Day the kids slowly started to wander back and by mid evening we seranaded Eric & Becky & Keira puppy in with some singing. Thanks so much to Kirstin for her accompaniment on the piano! Since this was now our "Christmas Eve" we opened gifts and enjoying the thoughtfulness each had taken to pick gifts suitable for the interests of others.
Boxing Day Lego was the focus of the morning and afternoon (after stockings). A couple of laptops also found their way into the Lego Room/Peter's Old Office so there was other happenings down there as well. I tried a new recipe from a new Swedish Cookbook (sweet and sour cabbage) and Brent and Kirstin made dessert which was a wonderful rice pudding with fresh cherry sauce. I think we have some new Christmas Dinner Traditions to add to Cinnamon Applesauce Salad! I think Kelsey also has a few ideas we can try out for future Christmas Dinners. I think we will end up over the years with a truly International Dinner. Something to really look forward to!
Saturday (our "Boxing Day") Peter and Eric spent a few hours in Red Deer "stimulating our economy". Now we can watch our movies with big picture and big sound! We've lots of new gift DVD's to watch. Good plan for those cold January nights yet to get through!
During the holidays Cor and Joanne also stopped by for supper and a visit. This was opportunity for the brothers to discuss the technicalities of big screen T.V.s, Receivers and Surround Sound. Us girls will just watch once everything is installed! (I've yet to figure out the remotes now sitting on the coffee table.)
After a few more days of work we spent New Year's in Calgary at Eric and Becky's (minus Kev who spent the week in Lacombe). There we got to try out their Wii and attempted Guitar Hero. The songs were very retro and turned back the pages of time for us personally - but my almost 50 year old fingers aren't as nimble as they used to be!
We brought Keira back with us so Eric and Becky could take a holiday with friends before heading back to University. That silly dog just marched right out and jumped into our truck waiting to go without so much as a whimper for her masters! She did miss them later though! And she missed Kev everytime he left the house! And the weather didn't help keep her entertained with a snow romp! So - we watch the entire trilogy of Lord of the Rings with Kev. I have never sat through all three in one consequetive sitting. I would recommend it to anyone who has 10 hours to spare. It all makes more sense doing that!
This pretty well brings the holiday celebrations to an end. The holiday came and went and without pictures would feel like a blurr. We've almost finished "un-decorating" the house. Before you know it time will be here to eagerly unpack the boxes once again and rediscover decorations carefully packed away. From my childhood memories, one of the best parts of Christmas was waiting patiently(?) for the tree to unthaw to open up the boxes of ornaments still chilly from months spent in the attic. Sweet memories that surround the season! It's our wish that our own children will have cherished childhood remembrances and also be building memories and traditions for their own homes at Christmastime!
A SONG OR TWO. MAYBE THREE OR FOUR!
A FEAST
A SNOOZE
WHAT DO WE DO NEXT?
PICK UP SOME KNITTING NEEDLES!
CAN I COME LIVE WITH YOU?
A few years ago, this book was recommended to me from a member of our family. Considering that we love the outdoors, hiking, camping etc, I thought this may be a good book to read. It was not long before I started reading the book and once I started, it was very difficult to put it down. I was intrigued by the two authors life with bears in Kamchatka, Russia. Lots of preparation was required to have these two arrive in another country and then position themsleves in a remote, very remote area of the country to study bears in their natural habitat. With bears never really have seen humans before and not knowing what they were like or the potential for harm that they could cause, three bears were befriended by Charlie and Maureen. They decided to name the three, Biscuit, Chico, and Rosie. The bears became used to the humans since they were not threatening. The cover of took certainly is a great example of the relationship that was created. The story emcompasses a few years over the life of the bears.
