I can’t think of anything but “happy” when I think of Christmas this year! I can honestly say I enjoyed every second of the holiday season – it seems like I got to do almost everything I wanted to do! I got to bake with my mom, decorate our house, make some handmade gifts and even drink loads of Starbucks holiday beverages. :) Plus, Ed and I also got to hit a few holiday parties, go to Charles Phoenix’s Retro Holiday Slideshow and check out a Cosmic Christmas at the Glendale Planetarium. But the high point was definitely our family combining efforts to adopt a family this Christmas! There was no stress, and at risk of sounding incredibly sappy – now that we’ve spent both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with both of our families, my heart is so full of love and blessings! It was truly a happy Christmas in every sense of the word.
As usual, we hosted Ed’s family at our house on Christmas Eve … and of course, we had an epic meal with Ed’s culinary masterpiece, the Chile-Brined Ham (make sure you check out the whole story on Day One and Day Two!)! Also on the menu was a balsamic roasted vegetable medley with zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, cauliflower & peppers along with wild rice. But this salad made by Ed’s mom was the tastiest salad I have ever eaten-and it was gorgeous, too!
I found a special bunch of flowers at Fresh & Easy (my favorite!) and I was inspired to clip a few to use for place cards at the table …
Ed’s mom loved her placecard …
Uncle loved hanging out with Ricki …
and Ed served the jus accompanying his ham like a pro!
And then today, we were off to The Facey’s! So much of my love for Christmas comes from my parents, and their house is the best at the holidays!!! They liked the picture frame we got for them:
Then the kids arrived, and it was on! Santa brought them Beatles Rock Band this year, so they were representin’ in their Beatles T-shirts:
We are really excited about our gift to them this year – we’re taking them to the Walt Disney Concert Hall for one of the Toyota Symphonies for Youth. Its a really cool thing where the kids can do arts and crafts beforehand, and then they get to see a kid-friendly orchestral performance about Beethoven. Ed and I haven’t ever seen anything there at the concert hall either, so we are totally looking forward to it!
They were so sweet and each of them picked out their own gifts for both Ed & I this year. We loved each and every one. They are so big now!
All in all – it was a beautiful holiday! We love our family and friends dearly and wish you all a very, very Happy New Year!
