Below is a group of photos from Christmas Eve when we opened our presents.
Cohen plays one of Uncle Bryan's pinball machines
Christmas photos
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Tag Archives: Christmas Eve
Ahhhh, vacation
Finally I am on vacation for the rest of the year. Just writing that makes me feel more relaxed 
I haven’t written much here for a long time because I haven’t felt like it. I go through phases. Right now I am sitting on my couch in my usual spot, sipping eggnogg-laced coffee (sounds gross but it really isn’t, actually), and looking out our living room window at the snow falling. I’m also watching a pesky black squirrel calmly raiding the bird feeders and thinking of ways in which I could put an electrical wire and a remote control together to give him a little shock that would help him avoid the feeders in future…
All of the little kids are already awake and terribly excited because tonight we will open Christmas presents. And I am already trying to be patient and easygoing, which is hard for me to do at times when they get so wired. Michele is at the kitchen table, putting names on stockings. Earlier this week she bought things to fill Christmas stockings for everyone but herself. She doesn’t yet realize that I bought things for her stocking on the sly. Because we traditionally open presents on Christmas Eve, some years when we can afford it, we make Christmas morning special by having the stockings available then.
I had thought about mailing Christmas letters this year but decided against it. We enjoy getting letters and cards from friends but have decided to forego the practice ourselves. Any of our friends and family who want to can follow news about us, photos, etc. on this blog year round. Michele and I are also both active on Facebook.
Now that I’ve mentioned Facebook, I must say that I’ve been really happy to reconnect with many former neighbors, classmates, and family of late through this site. It’s been a great medium for making acquaintances again, sometimes after twenty or more years without contact.
In my previous post I mentioned that I didn’t have a burning desire for any particular Christmas gift. I was wrong. I recently noticed that I can get a refurbished iPhone for $149 and so now I’m thinking about when I could possibly afford to buy one! Honestly, though, that’s not a big deal and certainly not something I really need.
To all readers, I wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
What’s been happening
I haven’t posted anything in a great while and that’s a good thing. I just haven’t felt like writing anything. Now that it’s January 1, 2008, I felt I should write the first post of the new year.
So, what’s been happening in my life? Well, I’ve been enjoying the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. I had to work last week, which was dull. But I’m thankful to have had some time off anyway. We hosted Christmas Eve (which is when my family gives presents and does the usual Christmas-y things). It required a tremendous amount of work to make our house somewhat presentable given that it usually looks like a bomb has exploded. But we managed to pull it all together and we had a good time. Michele made a lovely meal, there was plenty of yummy things to munch on, and even some Bailey’s Irish Cream was on hand to enjoy. Christmas day was quiet and relaxed. We had a nice meal then, too, and sat around watching movies at my brother-in-law’s house.
This past few days were spent with my side of the family in east central Illinois. We hadn’t been there in several months — quite a long time. It was great to see everyone, including little Russel, my niece’s baby boy. My nephew Ben was with his cousins in Canada so we didn’t see him, and my brother, Dan, wasn’t feeling well so we missed seeing him, too. But everyone else was there. One of the fun things we did was to go on our first geocaching adventure using the GPS unit my brother-in-law gave me for Christmas. I looked up three geocaches in the area and we were able to find two out of the three. The children enjoyed it and in the process we were able to spend some healthy time tramping around in the outdoors finding lots of interesting things like a cecropia moth’s cocoon, and seeing a flock of pheasants (something the little kids had never seen before).
Of course we enjoyed giving and receiving lots of presents. The little kids each got some special things such as kiddie digital cameras, MP3 players, cute big fluffy animal slippers, and much more. Michele got an iPod nano — cool!
We are thankful for many blessings, including the opportunity to spend time with both sides of our families.
Ten things my children will never experience
It’s Christmas Eve and I’ve been wide awake since early this a.m. No, it’s not due to excitement but rather anxiety about the day, visitors coming, etc. Plus I get a rare opportunity to just sit down in complete quiet without interruption and sip my coffee without any little ones crowding my lap
During the night I had an idea. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about my childhood in the 70s and 80s and the fact that so many of the things I experienced, my children probably won’t have a clue about. Maybe all they will know of some of these things is what they might one day see in a museum somewhere. My idea was that I should try to come up with a list of 10 examples of this. Here goes:
1. 8-track tapes
2. LPs
3. CB radio
4. Polyester leisure suits
5. Super 8 mm. movies
6. Carbon copies
7. Typewriters
8. Clip on ties
9. Pet rocks
10. Mood rings