All things holiday in one post. Go!

It seems every year there is a ton of prep for the holidays and then it's all over in a flash.  However, between work and school I had minimal time to prep and had to squeeze it all in a few days.  On a random weekend night, when all three of us happened to be staying in, the Christmas decorations went up.  I must admit it is a very nice tree, but being limited by the color or my wrapping paper is getting harder each year.  This year I went with a brown owl paper and created a "rustic theme."  I used twine as ribbon, felt as name tags and had pine cone and cinnamon accents.  It was the cheapest wrapping I've ever done and a big hit among the recipients.

I allotted two days in my schedule to get all my shopping done and Christmas cards out.  I ended up staying up til 3 in the morning finishing my cards, but they were done and I knew I could sleep in the next day.  I love shopping for gifts for people and am probably the worst person to go shopping with because I will literally spend over an hour in a store just trying to pick something out for one person.  Now you all know the love and thought that goes into each gift!  I know many despise the "hassle" of shopping but it always makes me warm and fuzzy.  All the gifts were a big hit and makes the time and energy especially worth it.  I'm kinda a holiday sap.

Caitlin working real hard in Nani's sweatshop

With that being said, I take every opportunity to spend time with family.  With our latest family addition, Libby (my now goddaughter), I figured I'd give Bobby and Beth an opportunity to do what they want and steal Abigail and Caitlin away for a bit.  Nani just so happened to make Christmas cookies so I figured I'd invite the gang over to help.  Mom wasn't busy, Chelsey didn't have to work till later and Bobby was not about to let me get extra brownie points so it turned into an impromptu lunch party.  I'm positive nani and papa thoroughly enjoyed the company even though they didn't know everyone was coming.

I worked the day before christmas eve and the day after christmas, which was a first for me.  I had always been in school or teaching and had all that time off, but that is not how the nursing schedules work and I guess it's a think Ill have to get use to.  In mid December we had our holiday party at Lurie's aka a nice meal set up in the conference room.  I waited in line for 45 minutes during my break to get my meal, but it was worth the wait.  For thanksgiving they had a traditional turkey and all the fixings which was a nice treat.  For Christmas they had a lovely spread and transformed the 11th floor into a festive dining experience.  Here is what it took to feed the staff at Lurie's Children's hospital...

• 18 hours of prep and 8 hours of cooking.
• 2,840 meals were served 
• 810 lbs of tenderloin cooked 
• 6,970 butternut squash raviolis made
• 13,115 shrimp grilled on the skewer

Christmas Eve I went to Aunt Brina's a little early to have a few pre-church cocktails.  I remember when we use to have to save two pews for all our family, but slowly that number has dwindled and only 7 of us went this year.  It was a quick service and the priest had a cute story about jesus missing from the nativity scene and the priest spotting a boy with the it in his wagon.  When the priest ran out and confronted the boy about his actions, the boy replied, I told jesus if he gave me a wagon for Christmas I would give him the first ride.  The lesson of the night was "give people the benefit of the doubt," which I don't think is a poor guideline.  We went back to the house where the rest of the gang was and engaged in our annual Christmas trivia which can sometimes get a little heated.  Fun Facts:  Michigan grows the greatest variety of Christmas trees.  Teddy Roosevelt is the only president who has banned Christmas trees in the White House.  The other 15 questions don't come to mind at this moment.  Aunt Neici and I gladly took third, but could have snubbed second if she remembered that Uncle Willie lost the $8,000 bet in It's a Wonderful Life, not Uncle Lester (who isn't even a character).  I'm already calling for a new partner next year.  Following dinner we played our White Elephant game where every gift had to be $5 and food related.  This has become the alternative to Santa visiting each year.  

Christmas morning was low key and casual.  Mom, dad, Chelsey and I had muffins and coffee while opening our presents.  It was nice to have everyone together.  Then it was off to make the rounds.  First stop Grandma's.  The hors d'oeuvres are always plentiful.  While saddened that grandma's world famous cheese ball was replaced by a hickory farms version, the great spread of vegetables more than made up for it (just pullin' your chain grandma ;o).  After another round of gift giving and eating, Chels and I headed to Nani's just in enough time to sit down for dinner.  This year they made 101 raviolis, of which I ate one because I was so stuffed from all the other meals and it was only 3 in the afternoon.  I must say I received the best gift by being asked to be little Libby's godmother.  I look forward to watching her grow into a strong, confident woman and know I will love her just as much as I do her bigger sisters.

Nani and Papa got the second best gift and Im sure the rest of the family would agree.  Since the bass lake cottage was auctioned off this year I thought it was only right to make a book of all the memories we shared there.  I spent over 20 hours collecting pictures, scanning pictures and organizing pictures to tell the story of Bass Lake over the last 40 years.  It was a big hit among all the family and even was granted a few tears.  I must have looked it over 100 times while making it and still smile every time.  The book is available for viewing at http://basslakebook.shutterfly.com  I must say, I'm really proud of this one.

My favorite picture of Papa