Christmas Day

Christmas was wonderful. Zig and I stayed up too late on Christmas Eve, along with many other parents I'm sure! The girls brought Spotty and Oreo in for the night and set out their little stockings feeling very confident that Santa would not forget the animals! The kids woke up early, but thankfully, not too early. We had Pan Au Chocolats, eggs and smoothies for breakfast after the kids opened their gifts. We had the ipads skyping with Texas and Poland at the same time, trying to include as many relatives as possible. We didn't take too many photos, but took video this year instead.

The kids most favorite gifts were:
Nina: Kanani American Girl Doll
Sela: Singing Equipment
Rollin: LEGOS and Pogo Stick
Evan: Springy Vintage Rocking Horse.

They loved other things they received, but these were the special gifts they had been wishing for! We went to church after breakfast. Zig's mom watched Evan which was a special treat for us. We were actually able to stay seated for the entire meeting. After we got home, I finished cooking some dishes for Christmas Dinner and headed to the Sharps to help Lisa get ready for dinner. We had fun in the kitchen. Chopping veggies is much more fun with friends! Several of Dave's siblings and their spouses came over which was really fun. Everyone pitched in. Dinner was wonderful. Lots of kids always makes for an energetic and festive evening. Sela led the kids who were willing in a talent show which was such a sweet and entertaining way to end the evening. I regret that I didn't get any pictures of the adults, but I did manage to snap some of the kids.

Rollin wanted to sing the chorus for "Angels we Have Heard on High," so Sela stepped in and tried to sing the rest even though she didn't know it well. It was pretty cute watching Rollin belt it out. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

We had a quiet little Christmas this year. Zig's mom was visiting which was a wonderful treat, but we missed seeing the rest of our families. We really missed the cousins this year.The girls and I delivered the last of the neighbor gifts which  left us feeling even more of the Christmas spirit, if that is even possible on Christmas Eve. We have several older couples on our road whom we very much look forward to visiting at Christmastime. The girls sang  to everyone who was home and my favorite was our visit to Judy. She is a widow who lives a few houses down. I'm guessing she's at least 75. Her house, lawn, barns are always immaculate. She has a cute little farm house and some beautiful horses. As we were walking toward her house in the pitch black night, we saw her walking across the lawn to her barn. I stood back and the girls went on down there a few minutes later. I heard them start singing and then she came and brought them into the barn. They said she was first startled and then said to her horses "look we have some visitors!" The girls went inside to see the horses and to give her her goodies. They were very excited when they rejoined me at the road. We headed back home to finish our Christmas Eve dinner.

I think I've mentioned before how much I love pumpkins and gourds. When it came time to bid farewell to the fall decorations, I just couldn't get rid of a few of my favorites....so I spray painted them a muted gold and barn red so they could stick around for Christmas. Kind of silly, I know.

On the menu for Christmas Eve was rosemary red beet soup  (made by Sela), Parmesan crostini, golden crusted brussels sprouts, roasted sweet potatoes, pomegranate citrus salad, grilled salmon, breaded sole and  garlic roasted mushrooms. 


A very pretty soup. I love beets!


A Polish Christmas Eve tradition is the Oplatek, or Christmas wafer. The wafer is just wheat and water and has a Christmas scene embossed on it. Everyone gets their own and then family members break off a small piece of the opłatek wafer and give it to one another along with a blessing. I love this tradition for its simplicity and sweetness. We all enjoyed exchanging wishes and hopes for health and happiness with each other.














Then the girls sang and Rollin put on a  show.








Evan was with us in spirit. He went to bed before we were finished preparing dinner. 

Later in the evening the kids opened their Christmas ornaments for 2010. Rollin's was a shark because he has been absolutely mad about sharks this entire year. He's seen every shark documentary out there and loves Jaws. It was not easy finding a shark ornament but I finally located one 2 days before Christmas. It was super cute and had big teeth (important). It also a purse (wierd) but I removed it. Sela received this ornament for trying so many new and unfamiliar things this year. Nina received this ornament for becoming such a wonderful and dedicated little reader. And Evan received this one, because this is exactly how he snuggles.

I started wrapping gifts and preparing for Christmas Day at midnight and closed up shop at 2:45am. Luckily Zig's younger brother, Martin, overnighted us some delicious sticky buns from Williams Sonoma which took care of a festive Christmas Breakfast and allowed me to sleep in just a bit the next morning. The kids woke up around 8. Thank you, children!

to the carousel we go

We headed to downtown Seattle early this week to ride the carousel and do a few other holiday activities. Zig's mom is here for the week and we've had a great time enjoying the kids and their excitement as each day leaves us one day closer to Christmas. It's the most wonderful time of the year!


Outside the EMP.
















Pretty window displays

One of these two children, and not the one you would expect, was embracing her inner two-year old at one point during the day. She even tried to bite Zig when he picked her up, but bummer, she has no teeth. This frustrated her even more. Oh Nina, we love you!


Teddy Bear Suite at the Fairmont


Nina thought it would be pretty dreamy to reside in the Teddy Bear Suite.I was just waiting for the "Mom, I wish we didn't give away all our teddy bear stuffed animals!"

Holiday Baking

I did all my shopping early for our Christmas baking. We had several recipes planned for neighbor gifts. But as Christmas approached, I didn't feel like giving sweets. At our house we were already at the point of tossing some of the goodies gifted to us because we had reached our sugar limit. I thought others might be in the same boat so I changed the plan and decided on a healthier approach. I thought New Years might be a better time to give a healthy gift, so we also waited a week. I decided to make granola and delivered it with whole pomegranates. We love to eat greek yogurt with granola and pomegranate seeds for breakfast and I'm sure most people would love it too if they tried it. I think I might have myself a new tradition, and a much less stressful one. This way I can enjoy Christmas cookie baking with the kids without worrying about whether the cookies are pretty enough. It's a win-win! Happy New Year!

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve, we took it fairly easy. I made a simple dinner of foods from Jesus' time. Lentil soup, hummus, flat bread, and white fish. I actually made Sole Meunière, I couldn't resist. I know it's French, but it's a simple fish recipe so it worked. We read the story of Christ's birth from the scriptures while we finished our meal. We sang Christmas songs. And the kids unwrapped their new books. Each year I get them a book that has something to do with Christmas. Zig and I kept teasing the kids by pretend kissing. They think it's so sick which totally cracks us up. After we put away the dinner dishes, Zig and I read the books to the kids and then tucked them in. Mrs. Claus got to work and Mr. Claus fell asleep on the couch. At 2am, I called it day.