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Christmas Chaos Both Bear and I managed to get off work early on Christmas Eve and run a few last minute errands. I was feeling wiped out and decided to have a nap for an hour before packing up for the trip out to the farm and Christmas day. At 5:15 my phone rang and I bolted upright (at which point everything spun and I had to lie down again). Bear was supposed to call me at 4:15 so that I'd have an hour to get ready and he had forgotten to call. The next 15 minutes was sheer craziness as I tried to pack, shower, dress and organize, all at the same time.We were expecting Bear's family church to be packed right full, as it had been last year when they started the service 15 minutes early and turned people away at the door, but we made it in plenty of time and there were tons of extra seats in the downstairs service. I got to sit next to Ceili, which is always entertaining. She would sit down, declare "I can't see", stand on the front edge of her chair, notice the bolts that held the chair legs on, try to poke them "what's this?" and nearly face-plant on the floor, then lather, rinse, repeat. The music was relatively awful, I think maybe they were used to having a pianist, anyway they needed one and I think the priest fell asleep during one of the carols. I'm sure a few people feel asleep during the sermon, which really was well written and thought provoking but needed to be about ten times faster. We're so lucky to have such young and vibrant priests at the college chapel Bear and I usually attend. After church (where Bear accidentally tried to make me steal the hymnal), we went out to the farm to eat and play games. Bear and I spent the night on the living room hide-a-bed, as usual. We awoke in the morning to a shrieking two-year old landing on our bed with a "Mewwy Kwismass!" and hugs. Everyone had soon gathered, including Plaid and Gee who had arrived late in the night. We all snuggled around a circle of candles in the living room for their annual Christmas ceremony, the best part of Christmas on the farm. Then Ceili was off for her visit and it was discovered that Nemo, one of the dogs, had gotten loose over night and had run away. Rider and Papa went looking and eventually managed to find him and bring him home. A little while later Papa came into the house sounding worried and saying that he found blood in the snow that trailed up to the chicken coop, where the barn cats slept. He said the cats wouldn't let him near but Rider is so good with animals, maybe she could get close. The second she was out the door we all ran to grab our coats and shoes. We all gathered around the door to the chicken coop where Rider was standing sobbing over her new anvil that we had all conspired to get for her. It had a big red bow on each end and a big sign saying "Merry Christmas". She petted her anvil, and even hugged it, she was so happy and excited. Back in the house we gobbled yummy ham waffles with maple syrup and were playing Rummoli when Ceili came home. The family tore into the stack of gifts with their usual gusto (Gee and I are the careful-opening exceptions) and soon the floor was littered with crumpled Christmas wrap. Bear got me a flat-iron (eeeeee!!!) and Rider gave me scrap booking scissors. Mama and Papa gave us 'Settlers of Catan' and Plaid and Gee gave us the 6-player expansion set. The best part of opening gifts at the farm is seeing the care and thought put into each gift. Plaid and Gee gave Papa an incredibly thoughtful gift, while we went with a T-shirt that would make him laugh himself silly. Soon we were off to my family Christmas insanity. Eighteen Foreman relatives jammed into my parent's house for dinner and ten more arrived later in the evening. It's plain to see that my family has entirely adopted Bear, even though the wedding isn't for a while yet. All in all, it was a very merry Christmas. 2004-12-26 || 2:41 p.m. |
