I hope that you had a Merry Christmas and are looking forward to a happy New Year. We had a very laid-back Christmas compared to some years.
John and Jackie were in Pennsylvania visiting her family during the week of Christmas. We had talked to them before Christmas about gifts. None of us really needs more stuff. If we need something we buy it. So we decided that we would like to do something together instead of buying gifts. In January we will be spending a weekend at Hocking Hills in an Airbnb. I am really looking forward to that because time with them is my favorite gift.
Tom and I decided to get each other one thing. So we spent an evening side by side on the couch picking out and ordering that one thing. When it came, we wrapped it up and then we gave it to each other on Christmas morning. He gave me a dragon yarn hoard shirt, which I love. I gave him a knife engineering book which he finds fascinating. We are both really happy with our gifts and the love that inspired them.
On Christmas Eve Tom and I attended the 7 p.m. traditional service at Lewis Center United Methodist Church. It was a beautiful service with carols, scripture, communion, and candles. I was a greeter, Tom was an usher, and we served communion. We normally attend Christmas Eve service with my parents, but their service was at 4:30. If we had gone to their service, we would have missed all the services at our church.
On Christmas Day Tom and I exchanged our one gift and watched “A Christmas Story.” After a light lunch, we headed north to my parents’ house. Mom and Dad must have been very good this year because they had quite a number of presents. Books and puzzles and some gift cards to Dad’s favorite fast food places. Dad likes to buy when we take them out.
Mom’s favorite present was a collection of Pfaltzgraff Windsong plates and bowls. This is the discontinued pattern that Mom picked out for everyday use a long time ago and they were down to just a few pieces left. We found a nice collection of dinner plates, salad plates, and bowls on eBay and bought it for them. The dishes came well wrapped in bubble wrap, which was another gift for Mom. She loves popping bubble wrap.
After the gifts, we played dominoes and ate some pizza for supper. Then Tom and I headed home, having enjoyed our very relaxing Christmas day.
The big Christmas celebration for our family was two days later on Saturday. Sixteen members of the family gathered at Mom and Dad’s for dinner, conversation, and silly gifts. Mom and Dad provided lasagna and macaroni and cheese. Steve brought rolls and tossed salad. Jared and Alexandria brought roasted vegetables. Julia and Mike brought grapes and a trifle. I took cookies and a banana cake. Plenty of food!
My sister gave us all a selection of cards that she made. I gave everyone the Jelly Roll Placemats that I wove. Then we started in on silly gifts. Everyone brings something that they are regifting or bought special and we select a gift at a time. You can steal a gift but then the person you stole it from has to select another. The game is over when all the gifts have been claimed. Part of the game is you have to take the gift home with you! What you do after that is your own decision.
The game was made more interesting by the two-year-old in the room. Eloise thought all the interesting gifts should belong to her. And most of us were happy to give them to her. I think her mom ended up with a lot of extra gifts. I don’t have any pictures of Eloise because she was moving too fast!
Our time together always goes too fast. With 16 people, it is hard to have a meaningful conversation with anyone. Julia and Mike had to get home to a sick dog. Eloise started to get cranky from too much stimulation. I stood in the kitchen trying to talk people into taking home containers of cookies. Devon hung around and took home the leftover lasagna. Then, as suddenly as the house had filled up, it was empty again.
Tom and I helped Mom and Dad get the house back in order, then we loaded up and came home. We were tired but pleased that it had been such a merry Christmas celebration.
How about you? Did you have a a Merry Christmas? Do you have a big New Year’s Eve celebration planned? Tom and I are planning on watching the Ohio State game on New Year’s Eve, and then the Rose Bowl Parade the next morning. Other than that we are being relaxed. The best gift at Christmas is a Savior who loves us and people that we can love in return.
Our John and fam got in Tues night, from IL. Rob and Gretchen from Portland on Friday. There were 12 of us on Christmas Day, 6 kids ages 5-13 and 6 adults. Lots of excitement! John grilled steaks and sauted green beans. Christy brought Cheesy Potatoes and a Veggie Tray. There was pie, cookies, and candy galore.
In between that I realized I was bleeding somewhere in my digestive tract. I’d already been feeling really tired and weak, so on Friday I saw a doctor who sent me to the ER, for the kind of tests that needed immediate results. My hemoglobin was way below normal, and the test showed positive for internal bleeding. The CT-Scan didnt show anything requiring surgery, so they sent me home to rest and return on Monday for bloodwork. They think a spot in my stomach that had been cauterized during my endoscopy on 12/17, had started leaking. I limited myself to small amounts of soft food and yesterday the hemoglobin showed it was inching back up. I see my GI doc again in March, and he has ordered bloodwork on Monday, 1/5. So I’ve slept and tried to rest, which was easier since all the baking and wrapping and cleaning is behind us.
A different Christmas holiday than I had planned, but everyone kicked in to make it great!
Life can change in a moment, as you well know. Glad you are healing, but that sounds like a scary thing to happen. Hope you continue to feel stronger.