Holidays In, Holidays Out

Well the Holidays have come and gone for our new little family and they were quite enjoyable. Sorry for the lag in posts lately but with traveling and having guests we just haven't had any time to post! Our holidays started out with a trip up to Eau Claire to see Grandpa and Grandma Anderson and Eli was a traveling champ! Eli went on his first sleigh ride with the Anderson clan and was treated to lots of hugs and smiles from the Anderson clan. Eli proved again that he is a car champ as we decided to drive back on December 23rd during a nasty snow/rain/ice storm. It took us about 4 hours to get home and he slept most the way and when he did wake up he just hung out quietly in the carseat. The roads were pretty terrible and we were glad to not have to stop to nurse.

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as a family and it was great. We were able to go to Blackhawk for church on Christmas Eve and were able to celebrate Christ's birth with Aunt Mary and Uncle Jon, which is always a good time. Then we came home and Eli went to bed, so Joel and I enjoyed some great steaks, wine and cookies in front of the fire. On Christmas morning, Eli has begun the age old tradition of waking up early to open christmas stockings. Joel and I are realizing that our days of sleeping in have passed, not to be found again until Eli is a lot older! Eli did have one small gift under the tree from mom and dad but he didn't seem to be all that interested in presents (see photo)! I wonder what it would be like if we did not give gifts around Christmas? Maybe he would realize earlier the true meaning of this season. At church, we participate in a new tradition called Advent Conspiracy in which we reclaim how we do Christmas. The idea is to Spend Less, Give More, Love All in order to Worship Christ Fully this season. So instead of spending oodles of money on gifts, we spend a little less each year and give to clean water projects and other assorted projects around the world. I would love for Eli to grow up with this definition of Christmas and not one of a season packed with business and presents. I want to take time with my family and not worry about the "perfect" meal or the "perfect" present. I want to try and mimic Eli's lack of interest in presents and hopefully an interest in serving and loving others fully.

(Can't quite open presents yet!)

After our family celebration, Grandma and Grandpa Grace came to visit Eli and a good time was had by all! We celebrated with the traditional Grace family breakfast (sticky buns, sausage, fruit, coffee, eggs), a trip to the yarn store and Eli got to experience a few of my Dad's famous stories about Eli. Apparently, Eli just finished running Grandma's Marathon, the Ironman, traveling to Antartica, discovering the solution to global warming and how to save the polar bears. Who knew! My parents babysat so Joel and I could go on a coffee date which was absolutely lovely! We went to Barriques and then I spent my Christmas money on a little treat at Orange Tree Imports. The weekend was capped off by my beef stew, some rousing games of rummikub (best game ever!) and some nummy cinnamon-craisen bread (recipe thanks to Aunt Joanna). All in all, it was a very excellent visit and Eli was nice enough not to cry too much at night for grandma and grandpa.

We've just finished up the holiday season with our very own New Years Celebration, which Eli wanted to celebrate 5 times last night (equals not a lot of sleep for Joel and I)! We went out to dinner with some friends but then had to call it an early night because Eli goes to bed around 8 pm. So Joel and I stayed up almost to midnight watching a movie and enjoying some adult beverages. Now we're into 2010 and who knows what this year will bring! What we do know, is that it brings new adventures and exciting milestones. This will be the year that Eli says his first word, rolls over, crawls and then begins to walk and who knows what else! We wish all of you a happy new year and a happy start to 2010!