Christmas in Alabama...day 5

Tuesday December 24  

Today we went to see Santa. Kristin was right...getting there first thing in the morning we only had to deal with a hand full of people in line. Kristin held a spot in line while everyone else explored the Bass Pro Shop and all of the stuff they had on display (clothing, sporting goods, boats, dead stuffed animals and a huge fully stocked aquarium.)

 

There were tons of activities set up for the kids, just to keep them busy while their folks waited in line (target shooting, a race care track, bow and arrow shooting and a writing station where one could compose their letter to Santa, and post it too). Shortly after Santa was open for business the photo op was here, with Jared and Landon by his side and a concerned Karis upon his lap...and just like that, it was over.

  

 

 

 

 

There were toys stacked everywhere. Kerry even noticed a display of Daisy riffles, which brought to mind how much we missed our other two grandkids in Washington State...Daisy and Brandon.

 

 

 

 

The morning seemed to pass by quickly. By the time we got back home, gave Jared a hair cut and ate a light lunch, it was the infamous nap time once again. We all slept well.

 

By 3:30pm we were once again loaded into the van, heading back to church for the Christmas Eve Candle Light service. We listened to a children's holiday story while all of the kids sat on and around the stage. Then we sang some of our favorite Christmas carols before finishing off with the actual lighting of the candles, started from one flame, spreading throughout the entire worship center. I always get choked up during the candle lighting portion of a Candle Light service...it's just so beautiful. 

 

 

The plan for the remainder of the day is a Beef Stroganoff dinner followed by a traditional Christmas Eve gift opening. I love tradition and Nick's family had plenty. It was fun watching the boys bake some cookies for Santa (and me).

  We all received a new pair of pajama's. These were for us to wear while spending the rest of the Christmas Eve evening sipping our hot chocolate while watching A Veggie Tales Holiday Movie. Once the kids were all tucked in for the night, Nick, Kristin and Kerry assembled a toy car for Karis and filled up some stockings...or should I say Santa filled up some stockings? No time to work on the shed today...there is always tomorrow, Christmas Day!

Fond memories of my childhood flood through me...warm and fuzziness, and it isn't even Christmas

Day yet.

 

Family traditions counter alienation and confusion. They help us define who we are; they provide something steady, reliable and safe in a confusing world.

SUSAN LIEBERMAN, New Traditions



Christmas in Alabama...day 4

Monday December 23

Kerry and I woke up and eagerly greeted the eve of Christmas Eve.

Hooray, today the rain has finally stopped. The humidity was replaced with cooler weather and with the constant rain yesterday, there is a damp coolness in the air. Usually as the day progresses the weather is supposed to get warmer. Today the opposite happened and by late afternoon it was downright chilly. Time to layer my clothes. I was glad I brought cold weather clothing,

One of Nick's bedrooms is called the garage. Because they really don't have a lot of storage space, this bedroom has been utilized for extra storage; mostly with items one would find in a garage (shelves, tools, suitcases, and other odds and ends), Kerry and I thought that if Nick and Kristin had a storage shed, the "garage" could be converted back into a bedroom. By having an extra bedroom, visitors (like us) would have a dedicated room to use during overnight visits. A shed was one of the items on Nick and Kristin's "wish" list. Can you say, "Ho Ho Ho?"

 

For Christmas, we bought them a shed and today's agenda was all about assembly. The first phase was putting together the various parts that would eventually come together to form the basic structure. We got as far as getting the wall bases in place and screwed together. We also managed to get the main I-beam and 2 side beams assembled! thanks to Kerry and her organizational skills. She kept Nick and me on track and on schedule. Oh, and I was the first one to bleed.

 

After dinner we headed over to Bass Pro so the kids could see Santa, but when we got there,  there were hundreds of people in line ahead of us (well maybe not hundreds but you get the idea).  It would take hours to reach Santa if we stayed. Kristin immediately came up with Plan B. We will return tomorrow morning when they open and hopefully the lines will be a lot shorter.

As we settled in with kids in bed Nick started making Lefse, a holiday tradition he learned from Poppi and a tradition Nick was going keep alive and hopefully pass on to his kids some day.

For Kerry and me, it was  time to say, "Nighty night."

Every family has a story that it tells itself, that it passes on to the children and grandchildren. The story grows over the years, mutates, some parts are sharpened, others dropped, and there is often debate about what really happened. But even with these different sides of the same story, there is still agreement that this is the family story. And in the absence of other narratives, it becomes the flagpole that the family hangs its identity from.

A.M. HOMES, O Magazine, Apr. 2007

Christmas in Alabama...day 3

Sunday December 22.  

We woke up with a plan. Today was going to be a busy day...sort of.

After cleaning up and getting dressed, Kerry and I enjoyed an easy breakfast of Kristin's homemade carrot and zucchini loaf. Oh my gosh!

After eating we took our time loading up the van. We were off to church.

 

Instead of doing the usual Sunday church routine, we were going to just go to Nick and Kristin's adult bible study class while the kids went to their Sunday school classes. We would be going to the worship center later on this evening. Nick and Kristin started going to the First Baptist Church of Prattville a couple of years ago and already they are extremely well plugged it. Everybody knew their names and greeted us openly, warmly and lovingly. We were made to feel right at home. The bible class was well taught and Kerry and I were proud of Nicholas' open participation in the debate.

 

After picking up the grandkids from their prospective classrooms, we headed to El Patron Mexican Grill to complete the Sunday morning ritual of eating Mexican food after church. We ate well, we ate plenty, we ate too much. Nap time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I must have been really tired (and full) because my nap lasted over 2 hours. It was sweet! Ah, retirement is good! We spent the rest of the day relaxing. Soon, the time came when we had to load up the van once again and head back to First Baptist for a Christmas Carol celebration.

 

 

It rained constantly today but the temps remained high. We even had a warning of possible tornadoes in the area. Tornadoes? Really?

Within minutes of arriving home, the grandkids were in bed.  We quickly changed into our pj's. Now was the time for sipping our Sleepy Time tea as we reflected on the events of the day. The rain still danced upon the roof over head. It was all too relaxing.

 

 

We closed off the day (or should I say evening) by watching the last half of "White Christmas." Tomorrow was patiently waiting for us as we closed our eyes for the night.

A family in harmony will prosper in everything.
                                                                                                CHINESE PROVERB