Christmas Day

Santa left Isabella a Barbie sized doll house at Grandma and Grandpa's this year! 

 Jesse from Toy Story and Elsa from Frozen were pretty popular too.  Isabella posed them just like she wanted and then had me take a photo. 

I think the dolls and the little girl all enjoyed the new house with its fancy furniture.  Jesse even decided to have a bath! 

George was thrilled with a BIG box of Frango mints.  These were a tradition in his home growing up  in Chicago. Originally they were only sold at Marshall Fields.  Each Lewis child got a box of 12.  Karen made hers last all year.  George and John weren't so disciplined! 

I was great to have Scott home, even if he has recently decided to become Vegan.  He's been vegetarian for 10 years and that was workable but vegan is a whole new ballgame for me!  I'm proud of him for his determination.

The traditional Lewis Family Christmas breakfast was particularly challenging but he was cheerful in the face of cinnamon rolls and breakfast pizza.  I made him a special veggies only pizza!

After presents, Matt and Scott headed to Bogus Basin to ski 

We went for a walk where Bella found Olaf!

Elsa, Jesse and Barbie went on the walk along with us!

We gave Isabella a "Hungry Hungry Hippos" game because we had such good memories of playing it with our kids.  It is still fun but the new version is oh so cheaply made. I lost because I had a Malfunctioning hippo!  Can you see where Isabella got her competitive streak?  

You can buy a 'vintage' game from the 1980s for over $60.  Why didn't I save ours? 

This was my first experience with SLIME!  It is kind of weird but I enjoyed it, probably because Bella did.

 

Miss Bella had her own 'made to order' Christmas dinner of nuggets and top ramen before going home for a nap! Notice that the dolls are still close by! 

 And even in the recliners, George and I managed to stay awake! 

We ended our day with an 8:45 showing of "The Rise of Skywalker". I thought the movie was very good.  

May the force be with you!

Last on the agenda for the day was to see the last Star Wars Movie. I remember seeing the 1st Star Wars movie when we were newlyweds, then later taking our children to see them and buying lots of Star Wars toys, then seeing the 'prequel' and the 'sequel' with our teenagers and young adult children.  Star Wars is definitely a part of our culture and they tied things up nicely.  I love Harrison Ford's appearance and the voices of all the Jedi masters.  I also love how the whole thing started with the unlikely friendship of Luke, Han and Leia and ended with another friendship of Rey, Poe, and Finn.  

Christmas Eve 2019

After Christmas in 2017, I decided that we needed to revamp our Christmas Eve traditions.  Our 'kids' were too old and Isabella was too young to enjoy what we had traditionally done.  So....I got creative and added minute-to-win-it games and a fondue dinner to our tried and true traditions of reading the nativity story from Luke and George's recitation of "Christmas Eve on the Desert.".  Grandpa Lewis recited that poem every single Christmas Eve and we all love hearing George recite it now.  I hope this tradition will continue into our children's homes.

First we made ornaments.  This year, with Matt's help, we made melted crayon ornaments. I love the way they turned out. 

We interspersed games with delicious appetizers. Fun penguins 

 A snowman cheese ball

Deviled eggs & Mandarin Chicken bites 

Fancy pigs in blankets, shrimp and a vegan soup   

Then we enjoyed cheese fondue.  

Went for a walk around our neighborhood and enjoyed the festive light displays. 

Friends from the ward won  the 'Judges Choice' Award in our neighborhood competition 

 Isabella and BB-8 

6 Minute-to-win-it games including  

Reindeer antler toss 

I actually won the antler toss game! Just have to point that out since I never have won one of these games! 

Isabella had a score card and participated in some of the games with enthusiasm.  She DOES NOT LIKE TO LOSE!  We know where she got that and it isn't from her mom's side of the family!

Christmas Tree Cup Stack 

Pin the Nose on the Snowman was a hit! 

Snowman Jingle Bell Slide 

When she decided that she had enough games for the evening, she enjoyed watching a movie on my I-pad. 

We managed to totally stuff ourselves with yummy sweets dipped in chocolate! 

Lots of messy fun! 

In a slight change from tradition we watched the new video from our church which tells the nativity story.  It is truly beautiful and adds some interesting insights into the familiar story.

And of course George recited, "Christmas Eve on the Desert".

It was the beginning of a 
VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

A Man of Many Talents

I collect nativity scenes.  When we are traveling and I find one I love it is so exciting.  I was thrilled then we came across a shop at a market in Budapest that had a wonderful scene.  The shop keeper wrapped every piece in bubble wrap and then carefully placed them in small boxes.  I didn't give it a thought until I opened the box earlier in December.  The first pieces were as adorable as I had remembered them being.  Then I found a sheep with a broken tail.  No problem, that looked easy to fix.  Next was a wiseman with a broken arm, again fixable.  When I unwrapped Mary, I wanted to cry.  She was so broken and there were so many pieces, it looked impossible.  And you can't have a nativity scene without Mary and Jesus!

Enter George with his magnifying glasses and glue! 

A few hours of careful work and voila......My Hungarian nativity is wonderful again!  I love it!  Ceramic repair is one of George's many talents.

Here is my scene from Croatia.

We were just getting on the bus after our walking tour of Vukovar, Croatia when another nativity scene collector told me that a shop about a block away had some really fun scenes.  I knew that we were just about to leave and I am such a rule follower that I couldn't bring myself to defy the guides and run down to the shop.  I pouted all day thinking of 'the one I didn't get'!

That evening though I had a great idea!  Another Fun For Less group was coming UP the Danube the next week and they would make the same stop in Vukovar AND I had friends in that group that were also collectors SO I sent a quick email with photos of the store and the nativity (thanks to the woman who had gotten one there) and a plea to PLEASE purchase one for me.  I promised to send a check for the postage and the nativity.  And they got me one!  This one is special because of the friendships that made it a part of my collection....and I do think it is pretty cute!

Cookies and Jumping!

I love that Matt has such good friends!  Zack and Jesse and their two adorable kids came over in February for dinner and to decorate Valentine cookies.  It was so fun that we decided to do it again in December!  I don't know why I forgot to take a photo of all of us together.  Oh well. 

Isabella and Addie with assistance from Dads, Moms and one Uncle created some masterpieces. 

I agree that you can never have too much icing or too many sprinkles!

Monica has become a pro at cookie decorating!  I remember sending all the ingredients and decorating supplies to John and Monica on their first Christmas as a married couple when they were still living in Argentina.  That was Monica's first time to decorate Christmas cookies.  Now she makes them look so beautiful!

The cookies were fun but the highlight of the evening for the two 4 year old girls was JUMPING!  We started this tradition with Isabella on Thanksgiving in 2018 and we 'jump' every Sunday evening when it is too cold or dark to go for a walk. Addie remembered it from her last visit to our house in February! With a thick mat at the bottom of the stairs, it is a wild place to jump. Recently we added Matt's colored cones to the landing strip.  Now the goal is to jump to certain colors.  

It gets pretty wild and crazy!

 So much fun and definitely uses up a lot of energy!

 I think we should do this again in February!  And I may remember to get a photos of all of us together!  Or at least all the guests! 

Living Nativity

The 7th Day Adventist Church in our town does a wonderful living nativity each year.  As you enter the gates of Bethlehem you pay your 'taxes' to the Roman soldiers. You stroll through a the village and can enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and a piece of homemade bread.

Roman Soldier

They even have a potter! 

The last time we took Isabella to a petting zoo with farm animals she said that it was 'so scary'.  We were happy that she would pet the sheep this time. Although I'm not sure she looked particularly comfortable, she did at least touch him!

Just like the shepherds of old, you follow the star to find the real 'gift' of

Christmas. 

Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus! And as Isabella always says, "just like OUR Mary".  She has only met her Aunt Mary once but she loves her! 

Afterwards you go into the church building where they have crafts and a puppet show for the children  and a delicious variety of soups.  This is where the 8 congregations from Eagle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helped.  Youth manned the puppet booth and craft room and we provided many crockpots of vegetarian soups.

A lovely start to our Christmas season.

A Stocking for Jackson

George's mother knitted Mary a baby blanket even though her hands were misshapen with arthritis.  She gave it to me and said that 'there was love in every stitch'.  I don't really knit but I am following my mother's tradition of making stockings for each member of the family.

This year was Jackson's turn!   Mary reports that he is into balls, doggies and cars so this one seemed appropriate. 

After 10 Star Wars movies, watched in order of the story, not the release date (I am definitely ready for "Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker), the entire new season of The Crown, 3 episodes of NCIS Los Angeles, a few reunions with Friends, and some channel flipping between Fox News, CNN and MSNBC - it's finished and in the mail! And yes, there is love in every stitch!  

I hope next year it is hanging on our mantle along with Mary's and Mark's and Christopher's! 

Santa and the Grandkids

 When our kids were little, we took them to the mall every year and had a photo made with Santa which was added to a little Santa photo album.  It is so fun now to add grandchildren Santa pictures!

Jackson and the little guy  

I love Jackson's expression.  He looks like he is thinking, "Why are you handing me to the weird guy? HELP!!!!!"

Because the little one is not legally theirs yet, I can't show his face on social media.  Trust me though, if he is officially adopted, I will change this photo!  You can also trust me that he is very cute! And that Mary is VERY busy with two little ones who are a year and a week apart in age!

 Isabella 
 She likes him better this year. I think Mrs. Claus helped calm her fears!