Christmas began with some time at my parent's house in Washington. Crissy and I headed over on Thursday evening after she was done at work and we had sufficiently wrapped presents and packed for several days away from home. Our holiday weekend started off well with my dad's famous (well, famous to us) homemade pizza, movies once Bill and Clare arrived and the start of jello shots. Yep - our family celebrates holidays festively....with alcoholic jello. It's nearly shameful for me to admit how much Peach Schnapps and Vodka I went through Thursday afternoon making the jello. So, Christmas with my family resembles something a little like this picture of Crissy above. Though, she only busts out the affro at Easter....not for Christmas. haha.
We got some quality time with my parents, Bill and Clare - and eventually Kayla and Kyle, too. There was lots of tasty food, aforementioned jello shots, wine, laughing, joking, relaxing and of course, presents. It certainly wasn't all about the gifts, though we did get some great stuff. More than that, we were pretty excited to give our gifts to my family. Every person got something unique to them - and my dad, whose present hasn't arrived from Ireland yet, got a lovely hand-drawn picture of a sad elf explaining his present wasn't here, compliments of Crissy.
Best present given (aka the funniest)? Definitely the one we gave to my brother. You see, Bill is a HUGE Nine Inch Nails fan. Even more than that, he LOVES LOVES LOVES Trent Reznor, the lead singer. Bill claims to not be the least bit interested in guys....but I'm pretty sure that, without a doubt, he'd leave Clare for Trent if ever presented with the opportunity. So, after a big misunderstanding about what type of "album" Bill really wanted for Christmas and the number of days dwindling, I suggested that Crissy sketch a picture of Bill and Trent. I mean, that's a one of a kind gift...how could he not love it?!?! Crissy did a great job - and I framed and matted it, so it was a legitimate gift. Now, more than giving great gifts to my brother, I LOVE driving him crazy and irritating him. For instance, I know exactly which nicknames tick him off the most. So, I figured putting "Boyfriends" on his frame in blue glittery letters would do exactly that. Instead, he found it as hilarious as I did. But, hooray for him enjoying it and finding the humor in it! Here's a pic of his picture all framed and ready to be wrapped:
Perhaps one of the most meaningful gifts received?
The Little Prince (pop-up version!)....from my brother. I really love all of the gifts people got me and am beyond appreciative. A lovely turquoise peacock graces our Christmas tree, a peacock vase sits on the hope chest in our room, our bed is far more cozy due to the new down-alternative mattress topper,
Date Night has been watched and laughed at, my fun green coat has been worn and kept me warm, plus lots of other goodies..... But,
The Little Prince will always hold a very special place in my heart. Somewhere is the version I read for the very first time - my mom's. I remember reading it very young, perhaps around age 8 or so....and then probably several more times as I got older. I read the original French version in 4th or 5th year French in high school....and have thought of it very few times since then. When I pass it in a bookstore, I often look at it - and wonder if I know of anyone I should buy it for to spread the goodness of such a wonderful story. To be honest - I remember few details of the story and only can recall the beauty of how it's written and the amazing life wisdom imparted by Saint-Exupery. Now I get to re-read the story and check out all of the fun pop-up pieces in this new book. Crissy has never read the story (shocking, right?!?!) and it's exciting to be able to share this with her, too. Plus - as Bill mentioned when he gave it to me....it's something that can be shared with our kids, too, one day.
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