Christmas: Special Guests and Special Times

Christmas was extra exciting this year. We hosted Weiwei, who stayed with us in the summer of 2015, and her friend Hedy. They're freshmen at The Ohio State University and traveled east to visit Boston, New York City, and us!

They arrived at the bus station in Northampton the evening of the 23rd and left the afternoon of the 26th. As college students, their biological clocks seemed about four hours behind ours. They stayed up late watching movies on their devices and slept most of the morning. 😊

Sunday evening, we watched The Polar Express. I don't think I've ever watched the whole movie before. It's a new favorite.

Monday was Christmas Eve, when we celebrate what I've dubbed our "Kitschy Christmas." Mom and the Huntleys joined us for Tater Tot Hotdish and salad, followed by cookies and ice cream. Not exactly your standard Christmas meal, but it has sentimental meaning, as we used to serve TTH when the Huntleys visited us in Wisconsin.

Afterward, we attended the Christmas Eve service at our church, which is filled with singing and candle light -- a much more traditional take on the holiday. The Christmas Eve photo shoot is also customary. It was nice to get a photo of the three of us by the tree this year.

Once Sarah was asleep, I slipped into the furnace room to retrieve stocking stuffers -- and discovered a pool of fuel oil on the floor. We'd had an ongoing problem with the furnace, which had finally been resolved a few days earlier, so this was rubbing salt in the wound. 

Don shut off the furnace for the night, to be safe. When he got up the next morning, he called the service number. The guy on call (who happened to be the son of a childhood friend) arrived at 5:30 and had the pump replaced soon after 6:00. Now, that's good service.

Sarah slept until 7:30. The three of us had oven-baked French toast for breakfast, then opened presents with Abby and the cats. 

Don's gifts included a trail camera for spying on our backyard wildlife. Sarah got a new fishing rod and two reels and ice skates, along with books and clothes from her siblings. I got many thoughtful gifts, including a beautiful flower pot that Sarah had decorated and filled with handmade items, including hot cocoa mix, a candle, and a perler bead design. Abby got a new treat puzzle toy.

After lunch, Sarah, Weiwei, Hedy, and I went to see Mary Poppins Returns. It was a fun movie and a novel activity for us on Christmas. Don stayed home to cook dinner -- good man that he is.

Mom joined us for a turkey dinner, with pumpkin pie for dessert. Afterward, we exchanged gifts with Hedy and Weiwei. Weiwei gave Sarah lots of fun stuff from Claire's. Don and I received OSU caps and drinkware -- mine a The Ohio State University Mom mug. 😍

Hedy helped us recreate the family photo we had taken in 2015, and Weiwei made a composite image. It looks as though I've shrunk!

Tuesday afternoon, we took Weiwei and Hedy to the bus station and said goodbye. They were headed back to Boston for a couple of days, then on to New York, with plans to spend New Year's Eve in Times Square. They are world travelers -- so much more adventurous and brave than I was at 18!

We celebrated Christmas in Goshen the following Saturday. Lots of gifts, lots of food, lots of dogs. Abby had a ball (literally -- playing keep away) with all the goldens, but, sadly, she's developed a fear of Brian and Forrest. No fault of theirs -- a mystery. She's such a sweetie, though, that she conceded to being wrapped in a blanket in Forrest's lap.

George and Chelsey gave Mom a new computer, which we all hope will solve her tech issues. Sarah got a huge art set from Grammy, which is one of her favorite gifts. And George and Sarah had some laughs playing with slime.

And with that, a month's worth of preparation and celebration drew to a close. As always, we were blessed with family, friends, food, and far too many gifts. We are so fortunate.