Whoa-Ho-Ho

Suiting up for the light show

It snowed off and on all day today up in the Great White North, so it seemed a perfect night to crank up the heater and the Christmas music in the car, and set off for a pre-bedtime tour of holiday lights.  One of Julie's first Christmas memories was driving off to some street in greater Dallas where every house on the block was done up to the nines.  Ever since then, she'd loved driving around looking at holiday lights.  We toured two different neighborhoods tonight and saw all manner of holiday glitz.  Clara kept crowing out, "There's some holiday lights!" while Joe would sally forth with the more adult, "Well, would you look at this?!"  That was until he tried out "Whoa-ho-ho!"  Well, whoa-ho-ho indeed, Fans, whoa.  Ho.  Ho.  The glitzier the better so far as he was concerned, and if there was a lit up animal in the mix, even better.  (Birdie kept her own counsel.)  It's easy to fault the crossing of the really not-so-very-fine line between tastefulness and tackiness when it comes to holiday lights and be all safely snooty from the car as you rule on the merits of blinking lights, twinkle lights, blinkle lights (blinking and twinkling don't you know), mixing colors, mixing shapes and types and so on, but who can fault the spirit behind it all?  Really, all holiday lights are heart-warming and there's nothing not to love about piling into the car with the people you love to go and have a look.

The Great Great Aunts Come for Brunch

Yesterday, we had all three of Joe and Clara's Great Great Aunt's over for brunch.  The last time we gathered together with them, the eldest Great Great Aunt, Shirley, couldn't make it because the elevator in her apartment building was being replaced and though she has a strong spirit, that won't get you up and down four flights of stairs when your ticker can haul off a beat irregularly when you least expect it. But the new elevator was in so Great Great Aunt Shirley was out!  That's how we were able to get this picture of the four generations of the girls!

Chloe, Clara, Julie, Muriel, Shirley, Nyla, Connie

Christmas Coda (or, Chloe!)

Brigade, as you read the Christmas report, you may not have given the bit about Santa bringing Clara a baby doll much thought.  We must call your attention to it again, and provide a follow-up report.  The baby doll is a Cabbage Patch Kid.  (Readers of a certain age may recall their longing for one of these faux-baby powder scented little ones from the cabbage patch with Xavier Roberts signature scrawled across one of their little bottom's cheeks--so might their parents.  It turns out that the cabbage patch continues to this day!  Who knew?!)

A few weeks ago, at pick-up on a show 'n' share Friday, we saw Birdie's friend, Emma, toting out a Cabbage Patch Kid sporting two ponies on top of her head just like someone else we all know and love.  Emma's Cabbage Patch Kid is named Chloe.  Santa--being terribly clever--brought Clara a Cabbage Patch Kid that looks like Birdie (and Chloe).

By the time we'd come downstairs Christmas morning, Clara and her Chloe were inseparable.  That's right, Fans.  So far as Clara is concerned, all Cabbage Patch Kids might as well be called Chloe.  It was all terribly confusing at first--Had Joe read the birth certificate?  Had Clara?  Was there a new friend at school named Chloe?  Then we remembered--Emma.  Emma's Chloe.  There was a brief mention of Clara's Chloe going by her given name, Sasha, but that suggestion was quickly forgotten as that was even more confusing.  Call Chloe Sasha?!  Why?????*

So now, multiple times a day, you can hear Clara cry out "Chloe!" upon realizing she does not have her beloved in hand.

*Julie would note that she christened her first Cabbage Patch Kid herself, too:  Buffy.  This was pre-Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so how Julie knew of Buffy as a name is a mystery--even to Julie.  But Buffy was altogether fabulous, and she smelled even better.  (Julie may have buried her nose in Chloe a few times these past two days.)

Christmas!

Making ready for the Big Man and his reindeer

Our Christmas began at approximately 3:50am, when Joe appeared beside our bed to announce that it was light outside and therefore, time to get up.  Ted had explained to the bambini that if they woke up, Joe was to check outside by lifting the blinds, and if it was light outside, they could get up.  They were told that they could play with whatever Santa had brought--which would be unwrapped--as well as with whatever was in their stockings.  Clearly, we needed a more specific definition of light that allowed for less subtlety.  Julie walked Joe back downstairs, which is when she realized that the kid hadn't looked in the living room on his way upstairs.  He'd simply beelined it bedside to ask permission to get up.  Well, Fans.  Santa had come.  He'd left scooters, sleds, a Millennium Falcon and "guys," and and a baby doll "for Clara," with baby doll accoutrements.

Naturally, the bambini were up for good no more than half an hour later.  We heard them from upstairs for the next three hours.  Crashes abounded.  When it truly was light outside, Joe began to appear bedside with increasing frequency to suggest that we get up.  When we did, we discovered that a sled laden with all of the pretend foodstuffs was responsible for some of the crashes we'd heard as it had been ferried through several tight doorways and a hallway on its way from the living room to the bambini's room.  The bambini had also clearly been busy whizzing about with the baby doll stroller and grocery cart.

Grandpa Charles and Grandma Connie arrived early so that present opening could commence.  It took all day, Fans.  !!!!!  Less because of the volume--though certainly, we were blessed with many expressions of Christmas love and generosity--and more because of overwrought excitement that slowly disintegrated into crankiness.  This is what comes of beginning one's Christmas before dawn.  Fa la la la la la la la la!

Christmas Eve

The Raleigh House Family (minus one Boo)

Ted grew up reading a book called The Mole Family Christmas.  It is not clear to this author whether it was read only at Christmastime, only on Christmas Eve, only on Christmas Day, both days, Easter Day, year round or what.  But it is clear that it was a well-loved book.  In it, a family of moles, led by its deep-thinking son, asks Santa for a telescope so that they might see the stars.  They reason that if Santa is to have any hope of making their Christmas wish come true, they will have to build a chimney.  They do--evading an owl the whole time--and finishing just in time for Santa's anticipated arrival on Christmas Eve.  At book's close, the Mole Family is enjoying its first look at the stars, thanks to its always-thinking and indefatigable son.  Joe at least was old enough this year to appreciate The Mole Family Christmas, so Ted read it to him and to Clara.  Julie heard Ted reading it again to Joe before a nap on Christmas Day.

Whether it was because of the spirit of The Mole Family Christmas or something else, we can't say, but this is true: last night, on our way out to dinner, Our Deeply-Thinking Hero, looked up at the full moon, and said, "The next time it's dark, I'm going to go outside and get some stars for Clara and me."