That’s our best shot at this year’s family Christmas photo. Here are my faves from this year’s Christmas Festivities:
Christmas Eve at MY House
After no word of upcoming Christmas festivities from my side of the family just a week before Christmas, I got a call from my Tita (aunt) Jelyn asking if I can host Christmas Eve. Oh boy. That’s quite a tall order because all my warm and fuzzy Christmas memories from my childhood took place in the beautiful homes of my aunts and uncles, and now I had to host for them in return? Yikes!
I slaved away at a 10 lb. prime rib for 4.5 hours that turned out to be exquisite. (By “slaved away” I meant that I bought a prime rib from Costco that was already infused with garlic and rubbed in spices and all I had to do was pop it in the oven.) Everyone else brought food and wine, too, so I didn’t have to prepare much. Music, laughter, lots of pictures, and fun was had by all so I think it was a hit! The family that has taken care of me my whole life didn’t disappoint – they even took care of the cleaning at the end of the party so that I could rest pass out once the party was over.
Arielle Takes the Stage
My cousins were jammin’ out on the guitar in the living room and so began the impromptu musical performances that my family is known for. This time, Arielle took center stage and sang 4 songs: Justin Beiber’s “Baby,” One Direction’s “Beautiful” and “One Thing”, and an a capella version of Ke$ha’s “Die Young.” Everyone was surprised at how she knew the words and was not scared or shy to perform in the middle of a crowded room:
The gifts were piled high at the Tamanio Christmas for all the little kids. There’s 15 or more…Sorry, I lost count after Bubba was born. Most of them are old enough to understand what Christmas was all about, so Lola Leh decided to teach a little lesson before the gifts were distributed. She asked them whose birthday it was and then asked each child to stand and say a prayer before opening presents. Arielle went second. She stood up, closed her eyes, and held her hands in prayer. The entire room was quiet as her little voice spoke, “Dear God….” I held my breath, hoping that she come through with a simple yet thoughtful prayer…but then she opened her eyes, looked around at all the people just stopped. Oh well. It was still very cute.
Zavier Says “Cheese!”
Zavier at 21 months
Little stinker! He kept making this face for pictures. He even says “Eeeeeee!” That’s just how he poses for pictures and it’s so funny it made everyone laugh!
Christmas Service
The Christmas Service at Willow Creek put on a full-out Broadway-esque production to tell the story of Mary, Joseph, and the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ through theatrics, dance, and cinema. This time, they presented it as a story within a story – the bigger story being that God created man and loved us so much that we worth saving after centuries of turning our backs against Him – and then it linked with the smaller story of the moment at which Jesus was born to save us. It was kind of nice to take a step back and remember why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. It’s not just Santa, presents, and time off of work. I wish I could find a recorded version of the service because it was so beautiful, but all I could find was the trailer.
There were so many other special moments, too much for just one post – Zavier got a Jeep AND a Fiat for Christmas…Arielle was finally old enough to understand who Santa Claus is…woo! It was a very merry Christmas indeed. 🙂
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