Christmas 2009

Ever since I moved to California in 2005, Christmas has become an especially important holiday to me. It is the only time of year that my entire family (on my mom's side) is able to be together. We used to all live within an hour of each other in Southeastern Pennsylvania. My brother and I grew up spending a lot of time with my cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. But as time has passed, we have been scattered to Ohio, Massachusetts, California, and Virginia. I really hope as my cousins and I grow older and start to take over the planning of family gatherings that we would be as dedicated to staying close-knit as my mom and her siblings (shown above) were.

Christmas morning at my parent's house...

My brother got them a sweet flat-screen TV so they wouldn't have to watch baseball on the teeny TV they had before. Apparently, it was hard to even see the ball.

Unwrapping gifts by the fireside, just as we have since we moved to that house in 1992. A snowman looks on from outside.

My Dad looks like an old-timey ship captain with that beard.

Family gathers for the evening at my Aunt Eloise and Uncle Andy's house...

Intense game of Scrabble after dinner.

Me showing evidence of being ambushed by snowballs. Francis lured me outside by claiming he felt sick to his stomach. When I went outside to check on him, my brother, my cousin, and my husband pelted me with snowballs! They only landed two before I made it back inside.

Gifts! We always start unwrapping from youngest to oldest. Here my cousin's daughter Sophie unwraps her presents on the same floor where me and my cousins were spoiled rotten for years.

Cousin Daniel opening my lame gift that I ordered too late and had to send to his house in Ohio. A paper cut-out of a shirt represented what was coming in the mail.

Aunt Nancy and my cousin's 6 month old son Noah. This was the first time we met him. I love the name they chose. Genesis 6:9 "This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God." What a legacy!

Asian-Caucasian babies are the cutest!


My cousin Doug received a box of logs for a fireplace. Except he doesn't have a fireplace at his house. Stupid gift, but at least it made us laugh.

Eric and Francis go head to head in chess.