Joy to the World!

A very happy and blessed Christmas to you all!  What a whirlwind of a week this has been.  Let's start with Christmas Eve Eve. :P

We were planning on waiting to get our tree on Christmas eve since Zenith was supposed to have half a day, but he found out the day before that he would be working later than he thought.  We decided to go out the day before Christmas Eve and get the tree since we had dinner plans with my parents for Christmas Eve and didn't know if we'd have the time to pick out the tree, get it home, set it up, and decorate it.

"Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree!"

I'd love to say that our evening of tree searching was complete with pretty snow, but despite what it looks like in the picture, this is actually rain. :P

Very cold, wet rain.

We stopped at Fuddruckers to warm up with some burgers

"Dad, is my food ready yet?"

Christmas Eve after Zenith got home from work, we decorated the house and trimmed the tree.

Time for the Angel to go on top!

Attempt #1

Um...maybe we should have gotten a smaller tree

Attempt #2...fail

A few more inches off...

Finally!

Time to turn on the lights!

Our Christmas Tree!

Our collection of Christmas cards

We went to my parents house and had a lovely dinner with them, then we finished the evening by reading The Night Before Christmas.  Following tradition, Mom read The Shiniest Star and then we tucked the little man into bed.  He was quite excited, knowing Saint Nicholas would be coming, but he was a good little boy and went right to bed.

Zenith and I headed off to Midnight Mass alone as William was staying with Mom and Dad since they were going to morning Mass.  It was so nice to attend Mass as a couple and be able to focus on it without having a baby to juggle or stand in the back with.  It was beautiful, complete with lovely hymns by the choir, and Father presenting the baby Jesus in our pretty impressive manger scene.

Christmas Day was very nice.  We had a relaxing morning, then Kaite and Dan came over with the girls and we exchanged gifts and then finished off the day with a lovely meal prepared by Mom.

William with his stocking

His new hat...time for some caribou hunting!

One of the things Zenith found in his stocking

Mom and Dad opening their gift from Angie, Thomas, Zenith and I

I guess we'll all be busy with croquet this summer!

Dan and Zenith having too much fun with Geege and Maddy's new toys

I'm definitely feeling a little disturbed...

I don't even know what to say

William's new jeep handmade by Dad!

Good enough to eat!

Playing with his toys

How blessed we are!  I hope everyone had good Christmases as well.  By the way, if your wondering how the Christmas pudding was, it was delicious!  Or so Dixie tells us.  Unfortunately there was none left for the rest of us after she got at it.  Thankfully we made two so we still have the other one to try.  This time we'll be keeping out of reach from the dog.

Here's a video of William from this morning...not long now!

Merry Christmas!

~Lindsay

A Delightful Date Night with my Man

This past Friday, Zenith surprised me with my Christmas gift early.  After getting home from work early and arranging for Tess to watch William, I was swept away on a lovely date.  It's been a long time since I've put a dress and heels on, but I did without knowing where I was going, and my prince charming, looking stunning in his suit, swept me away in his carriage (minivan) and we headed south.
He revealed his plans halfway there by handing me a couple tickets to the Wang Theater in Boston.

We were headed to an 8:00pm showing of A White Christmas.  We used to watch the movie every year around Christmas, so it was very excited to see the musical on stage!

Our first stop was Legal Seafood's Restaurant for a 6:30pm reservation.  Zenith thought of everything...being Friday, we needed something meatless and since I'm gluten intolerant, he found that they have an excellent gluten-free selection.  He planned it quite awhile ago so he didn't realize it was an Ember Day, but neither of us had eaten our full meal, so that was it.

The food was delicious, and we had a table by the window so we could see out at the streets decorated with lights for Christmas.  The city was so beautiful at night, the buildings all lit up, and decorated.  After dinner we walked to the show, which was really nice.  

The theater is so ornate!  The acting and music was great, and the effects were well done.

Zenith did a great job pulling off the night and I felt like a princess. :)  I realized how nice it is to get get out and feel like a couple dating, like we did before the little guy.  It's easy to get caught up in motherhood, taking care of William, and forget that our relationship needs just as much TLC.

I can't believe how fast Advent has flown by and how quickly Christmas is approaching!  I just dragged all the decorations down from the attic and tomorrow we'll go get our tree and decorate the house since Zenith has a half day.  Then we'll head out to my parents to spend Christmas Eve with them, tuck the baby into bed at Mom and Dad's, and Zenith and I are off to Midnight Mass.  As sad as I am to not have William with us at Mass, I'm really excited about being able to focus on the Mass and sing in the choir without juggling a baby (a crabby one at that late hour), and trying to keep him calm in the back of the church while missing most of it.

I'm so excited this year with it being William's first Christmas.  I love thinking about all the traditions I want to start, and moving into the role of being the one to set everything up and being the giver instead of the receiver.

Well, I must be off!  We have a few last minute errands to run.

Happy Christmas Eve Eve!

~Lindsay

Our magical backyard, Sunday brunch and Christmas Pudding

Our landlords are planning on selling in the summer, thus we have been looking around for other places.  But boy, I will really miss this place.  We have been so blessed with an apartment with such beautiful, peaceful surroundings.  Our back deck looks over 2 lovely acres of landscaped backyard, woods and field.  But beyond that, there is even more...would you like to take a short tour with me?

Come step into our magical surroundings and take a look...

...beyond the hanging nappies where you discover every shade of color...

...where deer and coyotes roam the land.

In our magical place we have happy little blue birds who perch, singing their joy at God's creations

And as the day finishes, the sun stretches out his arms of golden beams after a hard day's work...  

...and hugs the land goodnight with his last ray of warmth...

 ....just before he sinks below the horizon in sleep.

And our magical place goes dark as the moon and stars come out and watch over all asleep.

Hope you enjoyed my burst of poetic, picturesque "show and tell."  Now, onto the latest!  We had a lovely little brunch with Mom and Dad last Sunday.  Breakfast is a big thing for Zenith and I on Sundays.  Hopefully that will take off as a tradition in our family that we do up Sundays big with a brunch after Mass.  What better way to celebrate the Lord's Day than with a big breakfast?? ;)

(Especially when you have a man who will do the dishes) :D

Sorry Ladies, he's taken! 

(I know, that apron is a real turn on.) ;)

Back to what I was saying...yes, we had my parents for brunch this past Sunday.  I made a bacon, sausage, hashbrown, egg and cheese casserole, with sides of sausage, homemade yogurt, and fresh fruit salad.  Mom brought a delicious cranberry walnut bread which was perfect for the season.  Dad was able to finally try out Zenith's prize espresso machine and enjoyed his cappuccino so much that he was back for seconds before anyone could bat an eye.   

After brunch, the boys headed outside with their homemade pipes and enjoyed a smoke.

Zenith and Santa..er...I mean Dad.

(I think he's taking this "Santa's workshop" thing with his wood carving and toy making a little too seriously) ;)

Dad has really been getting into his wood carving, making "wood spirit" pipes for all his sons-in-laws.  Both pipes in the pictures above have been hand carved by Dad.  He does a fantastic job with it all!

After brunch, we all headed back to Mom and Dad's for dinner with Kaite and Dan, and then another intense game of Pictionary.  My family has never been into games before.  But we've been getting into them more lately and really enjoying them.  However, it's making me realize how competitive keen Zenith is on winning. ;)  It definitely gets everyone into the game though!

In other news, Zenith and I decided we wanted to try to start another Christmas tradition.

I think our Aussie friends and family will probably know right away what this is.  (Now now Americans, don't poo poo it...you don't even know what it is!)

(not my picture)

I'm sure our American friends and family are probably still unaware of what this is and even more shaken by the fact that the previous picture is of something that will be eaten.  Christmas Pudding!  Zenith's Nanna used to make this around Christmas and I thought it would be nice to carry on the tradition.  It's an Aussie/English dessert that is more like a fruit cake.  You can boil it in a pudding dish, but we decided to try it the old fashioned way of putting the batter into a floured "pudding cloth," tying it, and then boiling for 5 hours.  Then...

...you hang it for a few days up to weeks to dry out.  A "skin" forms around the pudding, preserving it for up to a couple months in a cool, dry place.  I'm sure the cup of bourbon helps as well.  The longer it hangs, the tastier it becomes!

I'm quite excited about this latest venture.  Zenith actually made the batter pretty much on his own, and then we did the rest together.  Just bringing a little bit of Australia to America.

Well, that's about the extent of the latest around here.

I'll finish this off with a few videos of the kiddo.

Happy Thursday!

~Lindsay