It’s been an awesome Christmas holiday, so far. More to come this weekend, but for now let me fill you in on the festivities. Christmas Eve day was fairly quiet. We worked in the morning and then prepared for our impending guests. Wendy and I volunteered to help video tape one of the three Christmas Eve services in our church sanctuary, which was at 4:30 in the afternoon. We returned home to enjoy a little dinner with Suzanna. At 9:00 p.m. I headed back to church where I had volunteered to help with a reader’s theater piece for the 11:00 p.m. service in the auditorium. By the time I got home the kids had arrived and everyone was sacked out (with the requisite sugar plums dancing in their heads, no doubt).
I was up early on Christmas morning to put the chicken in the crockpot and to get the breakfast casserole out of the fridge. Wendy was up not much after me and was quickly bustling in the kitchen. Taylor was up shortly thereafter and we enjoyed an impromptu daddy/daughter date over coffee in the early Christmas morning hours. Suzanna and Clayton were up in time to join us for Wendy’s amazing breakfast casserole and homemade cinnabon cinnamon rolls. We then called Madison on Skype and opened gifts together.
By late morning we were on the road for Des Moines. We arrived at Grandpa and Grandma Vander Well’s in time for a 1:00 Christmas feast which consisted of Italian chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, corn, rolls, homemade Italian bread, and a few garnishes (of course, Grandma Jeanne’s cinnamon rolls were a hit as usual).
After lunch we headed downstairs to open gifts. Desserts followed, including Wendy’s dark chocolate, peanut butter, and espresso cupcakes. Yum. The grandkids all began to disperse after that. Wendy’s folks arrived about 4:00 to escort Suzanna back to Boone where she’s visiting for a week. Wendy and I chatted with family a short while longer and headed back to Pella where we enjoyed a quiet evening together.
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