Merry Christmas 2007
Guess who’s no longer dreaming of a white Christmas? I know this is a belated posting but Kelly and I both hope that you all had as good a Christmas as we did today.
With Ben’s birthday on Christmas Eve things have become a little hectic this time of year for us. Top of the list is making sure his day is his day. We only get one birthday and one Christmas after all so making sure they don’t combine is paramount.
Luc was asleep quite early last night and after Ben joined him in the land of nod we started on operation “Santa Claus”. We knew he’d be coming soon so we had to prepare room under the tree for him, make sure that his approach was an easy one and of course, leave a little snack out so that he and his reindeers could continue on their way (which as you can see they quite enjoyed in the end).
When we all woke this morning we were very lucky to see he had stopped by our house and the boys, for being so good this year, were rewarded handsomely. Even Mummy, Daddy and Marco received a little something. It was another very Merry Christmas morning. I can’t wait till they’re that little bit older and trip over themselves to get to the tree. That’ll be awesome.
We had been invited to Christmas Day parties in both Milwaukee and Madison but didn’t quite fancy the morning drive with both boys anxious to get out and play with their toys. Plus there was the trip home too. Thank you to The Brunners and Patti and Don all the same. We’re still hoping to see you again before we leave.
Instead, we stayed here in Green Bay and had lunch with our friends Daniela, Eugene and their family. Whilst it didn’t actually snow on the day there was plenty of snow around and looking out of their dining room window, with everything covered in white, it dawned on me that this was another first. We knew Christmas was coming and we knew that there was snow outside but to actually see it on the day for real was wonderful. It’s certainly very different to the 90/100F degree celebrations that we’re used to.
Whilst we feasted on a traditional Bulgarian lunch Ben, Luc and their little boy Alex wreaked havoc amongst the toys he had received from Santa Claus. With Ben being the oldest of the bunch you can imagine that taming their happy little ways was difficult right from the start. For the most part we just let them go. It was Christmas day after all.
By the time Luc was ready for his afternoon nap we were on our way. To be honest, I think we were all ready for an afternoon nap at this point in the day so a quick trip home, a recharge of the batteries and a bath for both boys was certainly on the agenda.
For Christmas dinner we went to see our friends Tom, Kathy, Tyler and Katie. Marco was still suffering with a cold from the effects of Chicago on the weekend so he stayed back and slept something like 15 hours to catch up. It’s funny, the cold hasn’t really hit us ‘cause we were here at the end of summer so our introduction to the Wisconsin winter was a gradual one. Marc on the other hand had flown out of Perth on a 95F (35C) degree day into Chicago at 25F (-4C) so his introduction was more like a slap in the face.
Either way, we enjoyed a whole host of different foods including one of our Aussie favourites, prawns (shrimp) and celebrated with a slice of Christmas cake before staring at their tree for what seemed like hours.
To say I have tree envy after tonight would be a massive understatement. Tom and Kathy have the most fantastically decorated tree Kelly and I have ever seen. It was nothing short of magical. Don’t blush Kathy, you know it’s true. With the tree rotating so that you don’t miss a single ornament, Christmas lights glowing, train choo-choo-chooing at the base and white snowy background courtesy of the open curtains of the window behind, it was like we had just warped into a Christmas time fairytale.
Using their tree to reflect on our day and all that has happened in the last few months was a great way to spend the tail end of Christmas night. Another lasting memory that will stay with us forever.
Thank you to everyone for your kind wishes, generous offers and wonderful hospitality over the holiday period. We may be away from home but courtesy of those who care so much, we didn’t feel like we were away at all.
