Helping Mama make sugar cookies for the first time. He immediately threw the dough overboard and just wanted to play with the cookie cutters and flour. Go figure!
Christmas Eve. Me and Zoila with the kids.
Eric opening his gifts. He doesn't look too bad for being awake at 11:30 p.m.
I think we look more tired!
Christmas morning fun with presents!
Christmas Brunch at our apartment.
Eric and Paula Marie playing.
I hope everyone had a delightful Christmas with at least one moment to reflect on the reason we celebrate...the birth of Jesus. I have to admit the holiday almost passed by without a little reflection in our house. In true Dominican fashion it was a crazy two days, but little Eric and I have been reading from his children's Bible each night before bed and we read about Jesus birth. It is the best Children's Bible I have seen. The stories are told in a really creative way that make them easy to understand and relatable. At the end of the story about Jesus being born it says:
"Mary and Joseph named him Jeus, 'Emmanuel' - which means "God has come to live with us."
Because, of course, he had."
I love it. The Bible is called, "The Jesus Storybook Bible" by ZonderKidz if you are interested.
Anyway, we had a great holiday. The tradition here is to celebrate with family on Christmas Eve. They don't really do anything on Christmas Day, except rest from the insanely late night the night before. Santa isn't a huge deal here, which is refreshing to me, as we aren't making a big deal about Santa either way with little Eric. The children here might get a gift from Santa on Christmas morning, but it's not the commercialized crazy thing it is in the U.S.
I spent most of Christmas Eve baking and cooking for a Christmas brunch we hosted on Christmas Morning for Eric's family. I baked the most fabulous and famous sugar cookies on the planet that I have made for about 15 years. The tasted great, but with the heat and humidity the icing kept running off the cookies. A little improvisation with the icing and they were good to go, although not the cutest. I also made a strawberry shortcake for our dinner party. It was a request from my brother-in-law, Antolin. Who knew that strawberries grow in the mountains here? So, on our trip to Eric's grandparents last weekend we picked up a few pints and I got to share a little Americana with everyone on Christmas Eve as none had ever tasted Strawberry Shortcake before.
Our Christmas Eve celebration was a lot of fun, but it was a LATE night. We got to Antolin's parent's house at 8:30, ate dinner at 10, the kids opened their gifts at 11:30 and we were home at 1 a.m. Little Eric was a trooper, and is still recovering with a few longer than normal naps. I think the brightly wrapped presents and other kids playing kept him engaged and unaware how late it was.
On Christmas Day some of Eric's family came over for a traditional Christmas brunch. You know how much I love to cook and entertain. It was the greatest gift I could give and receive to make all the food and see everyone enjoy tasting things for the first time. I made a ham and cheese egg strata, herb biscuits, blueberry muffins, and an apple and raisin salad. One of Eric's cousins told me she had never had homemade blueberry muffins and she wants me to teach her how to make cinnamon rolls. We had a lot of fun and the kids all played with their new toys.
In the tradition of my family we set up Eric's Christmas presents for him to discover on Christmas morning. My parents always set up "Santa's" gifts for us so they were all ready to play with when we woke up. I am learning how smart this is, because Eric lacks the patience to wait for us to open the gifts and put them together for him while he has to wait to play with them.
It's been raining off and on for the past three days and is a little cooler than normal. A nice break, even though we are missing out on the white Christmas much of the Northeast has enjoyed (or survived, as we are hearing)! I am going out with a friend today for coffee. She is a friend of Zoila's who I got to know over the past two visits in the past 4 years. I am excited to have the chance to connect with her a little more. Other than that we are laying low and resting. I put in a request to go to the beach when the weather clears up. I can't believe we have been here over a month and haven't been to the beach. In my book this is a complete tragedy.
By the way...thank you for all of the notes and e-mails with greetings and encouragements. I love hearing for you all!
3 comments:
thanks for the update karin. i was hoping i wouldn't have to wait too long to hear the details of your Christmas celebration. if you talk to kelly, tell her I still would like to be her friend:) since you left i think she has gone into hibernation. hugs to you all!
Looks like you guys had a great time. I am so glad you got to host a brunch. How special for everyone. You'll be teaching them all to make goodies before we know it. Merry Christmas!
Your apartment is just adorable - ALMOST as cute as your family! I love that you were able to entertain and share your gift of hospitality and sugar cookies. We too grew up with Santa's loot on display and I completely agree it works well on Christmas morning. No boxes, wrappers, batteries, etc. to spoil the fun! Enjoy the beach - I'm so very jealous!
Post a Comment