For the first 50 years of my life, my perfectionist self mistakenly believed it was all about knowing more, getting it right, planning, attempting to prevent bad things from happening, and keeping all of my chicks in a row. It took me this long to discover that the JOURNEY is all that matters. This quote from Gilda Radner sums it all up:

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next. "

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Christmas Day 2010 - Joyful, Jolly, and Jubilant

                   Our family Christmas is usually pretty quiet and subdued,
                                                      but not this year.
                      It began with a breakfast of crepes, eggs....

                                            and maple ham!
 Then we opened gifts.  Kerry was quite happy with her new hat...

              and Annie loved her purple glove-ins                             (purple is her favorite color)
                                  Adam got Season 6 of The Office, 
                             which was on his very short list for Santa!

                      Grandma Alice opened her gifts too.
                        When Vance opened up 2 bottles of wine,
        his eyes danced with memories of Lyndsay Mills wedding!
            Annie gave Kerry what she thought was a "cat" hat - NOT!
                       And my favorite gift was from my kids...
                                  two original paintings on canvas
                                by Vermont artist Kimberlee Forney.
We all scratched our annual gift from Vance (Annie was the biggest
winner) and then we packed into the van for a surprise visit to
Vance's relatives in New Jersey!  After a 4 hour drive, we pretended
to be carolers.  Singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", we
anxiously awaited the reactions of the unsuspecting relatives who
opened the door.  This was the best part of the day!


              We brought enough gifts for a Yankee Swap for the adults.


                     Even Vance's grandmother participated!
                      There were lots of laughs!
                    The party pack of beer was the most "swapped" gift.
                              Aunty Koko really wanted the beer!
                                Aunty JJ sat next to her mother.
   The "little ones" are now Janis and Gary's girls, Kimiko and Mya.
       Grandma, a big Phillies fan, was happy with her gift.
                                                           Vance and Kerry
              Aunty Frannie examines the array of Christmas cookies .
                          Uncle Sammy hugs his grand-daughter, Mia.
And Adam, Kerry, and Annie pose with 103 year old Great Grandma!

We had to pack up early on the 26th to get home before the big
snowstorm arrived. The trip was short, but it was soooo worth it!
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2 comments:

  1. Lyndsay MDecember 28, 2010 at 11:05 AM

    looks like you guys had a blast!! We packed up early to avoid the storm too :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. taylor virginia millsDecember 28, 2010 at 11:50 AM

    I love all the pictures of the families! That is too funny that you pretended to be carolers!!

    ReplyDelete

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