Saturday, December 27, 2008

Christmas Day

Christmas morning seems synonymous with stockings, Christmas music, and cinnamon rolls. Cinnamon rolls? In my family, we buy the Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and put them in the oven just before we begin to dig through the stocking hung by the fireplace. So then, it seemed more than fitting that my adoptive family would also eat cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. Amazing how such little things can remind one of home and make the day more special. The morning began with stockings, and after we finished unwrapping presents and reveling in our peanuts, mandarin oranges, and chocolate and eating the delicious cinnamon rolls, the pajama gang gradually dispersed to shower, play with new toys, or to take a Christmas morning jog. I passed on jogging with Anna and Nate, deciding that wheezing through a run in the cold, while I can't breathe out of my nose, wouldn't be fun. Instead, I tied up my shoes and set out to walk through the countryside. The fields were mud and the trees bare, but still the serenity of the morning and the gentle hills in the background seemed fitting for a Christmas morn. I returned rejuvenated, with mud up to my knees, and in urgent need of a shower.

About 2, Pía and Chino came over for lunch. Afterward, while the majority settled down to play ping-pong, Pía, Jodi, Nick, Andi, and I set out for a round-about walk to the park. They've built a new park between Multiva Baja and Multiva Alta, which I enjoyed seeing, along with a bike path connecting the two villages. It's interesting to see what changes when one has been gone for a few years. When we got back, the population in the house had multiplied, and by the end of the evening, we were 20 people strong. We passed the hours playing Settlers of Catan and poker, having a white elephant gift exchange, eating food and sweets, and enjoying plenty of talk and laughter. After the guests left around 8, we girls tortured the guys by finishing the last 3-hours of the 6-hour version of Pride and Prejudice. I'm proud of myself for staying awake. Luccas did say at the end that he thinks he likes the movie. Thinks...perhaps he said it hesitantly that to keep Nate and Luke from teasing him too much.

Friday morning, due to Amber's request, the whole family (and I) sung Christmas carols, accompanied by Luke on the piano. Pía arrived halfway through and sung like Luccas did, that silent form of singing where you don't open your mouth. We couldn't even get Luccas to sing the Latin choruses like "gloria in excelsis deo" or to honk or quack or bark when we substituted animal noises for the words in the carols (only after singing the words to all those we knew by heart). That was the most fun, singing the old Christmas carols from the hymnal in three part harmony, replete with the whole barnyard's voices. You would have to hear it, I believe, to fully appreciate the beauty. Pía bid us goodbye, probably wondering about the sanity of her American friends, and we went on to have a much more normal rest of the day.

It snowed last night here, but none stuck. It's been fairly good weather, a bit nippy at times, but nothing to complain too much about. I called my family on Christmas, and Mom said that she is happy that I'm here in Spain instead of trying to head home. I would probably be stuck in an airport somewhere. From Friday till Tuesday afternoon, my family was without power along with about half of Fort Wayne. The ice storm took down a bunch of power lines and tree limbs, keeping the power company extremely busy. Dad has been on the roads plowing and salting, and yesterday, it took my family about 6 hours to drive what normally is a 2.5 hour trip to my grandparents house in Ann Arbor, Michigan because of the icy roads. People were going 15 mph on the highway where the limit is 70 mph. My grandparents said that at their house I would need cross country skis to walk through the countryside. Now that's an idea I wouldn't mind acting upon. Next year, I suppose, I'll get the skis out.

Thanks for all the Christmas cheer and wishes you've sent me! Merry Christmas!

Christmas 2008

2 comments:

  1. So glad you are fine and posting again. I do like your constant bit about life changing and our need to keep our focus on God. You were missed, but I am so glad you have friends to keep you company during the holiday and help you have fun. Tomorrow Larry and I will start our long trip back to Tn.

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  2. Thanks for all the sweet pictures of Andi this time (and everyone else). We tried several times to contact you on Saturday at Gary's, but it sounds like you were busy visiting around. Hope you got some rest for the New Year party. We are going over to Sandy's again, Colin to Smith's. Hope to talk after the New Year. Love, Mom

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