Greg continues to recover from surgery. Everyday is a little better. And when he does have pain, it's an achy pain, not the nerve pain he was having before. His first outing was the office Christmas luncheon. He then went shopping 3 days in a row (probably his personal record), and insisted on washing the truck, w/Gregory's help last weekend. He went back to work Monday, and stayed til about 3. He claims he never heard the doctor say he could go for half days after 2 weeks - he claimed he said back to normal. Tuesday he went in but worked through lunch and just came home around 1:30. I doubt much work was going on in the office anyway. His office was closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and Fridays are always a half day.
Christmas Eve I made it to church for the 3:00 service. It's the only time of the year that we sing anything that could be called "traditional". I missed the usually pumped-up worship time, but enjoyed singing the traditional songs and really listening to the words, the meanings. We had hot chocolate and cider available on the way in/out. Yum. We also had communion, which we only do about 6 times a year. That is one thing I do miss from Catholic church. It was a special service and I was glad to have made it.
On the way there, I stopped at my friend Brandie's home. Her oldest son lives with his father, and he was visiting for the day. I hadn't seen him in several months, probably close to a year. He was as tall as me, and I had on heels!
Here's her family:
It was my intention for us to have gumbo for Christmas eve/day, but it just got too warm and muggy for it. I'll do that next cold spell. So we ended up having leftover buffet for Christmas Eve. We'd told Gregory he could open one present Christmas Eve. We had already let him open 2 gifts other evenings when he was begging. I like opening the presents gradually. I think the smaller gifts get to be appreciated that way, and it's not so overwhelming. But by Christmas Eve eve, he was really driving me batty asking things like what time on Christmas eve could he open the present, who decides what he opens, etc. I've never liked the placing of gifts to be opened much later under the tree. For the first several years, we didn't put any gifts out until a day or 2 before Christmas. This is the first year they went under the tree earlier, and it was torture for everyone. It just doesn't feel like the Christmas spirit to constantly be telling a child "no" about a gift. And, personally, if I've got a gift for you, I want you to open and enjoy it as soon as possible. I don't intend this to sound morbid, but what if I have a gift for someone and I'm waiting to give it to them, and one of us doesn't live to the magical day of opening. Time is precious, and no one is promised tomorrow. If you have a gift, a wish, or a thought, share it NOW!
Anyway, before I went to church I pulled Greg aside and asked if he would mind opening all the gifts that night. The waiting game was just making everyone miserable. He didn't mind. So after church, we had a quick leftover buffet for dinner, and then went riding to see Christmas lights. Gregory had opening a gift on his mind, so looking at lights wasn't high on his list, as you can see.
The Messenger family has decorated their home and both neighboring lots for over 40 years. Each year they add a new setting. Not all of them have withstood the test of time, but they have scenes on display from as early as 1964!
We then returned home and Gregory asked which present he could open. When I told him, "all of them", he asked several times if I was serious. So we had gift exchange at about 9PM Christmas Eve. I got a wonderful robe I've wanted for a while, a new printer/scanner, and a sandwich grill (from Gregory). Greg got a new gun (yuk), an electric razor from me, and a nice book about guns from Gregory. Gregory made it well known that all he wanted was an Xbox 360 Elite. He said he didn't mind waiting til after Christmas, and he would give us his Christmas money to help pay for it. I told that to my mom and she was so touched by his understanding that she gave me money she'd beeen making babysitting for a neighbor. So it was under the tree, along with the accessories and a game. He was so excited. He was just as excited to give Greg & I our gifts as he was to open his own.
Christmas day was very quiet. We'd all stayed up very late and slept in. We had breakfast for lunch, and Greg cooked some most excellent chicken breasts on the grill for dinner. All in all it was a great Christmas, Gregory says "best ever!" It was nice. And we still have several family members to celebrate with, so it's not over yet!
1 comment:
Hi dear! Sounds like you guys had a great christmas. Love reading about what you guys are up to!
big hugs all round,
Stacey
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