Christmas!

First of all, let me introduce myself: Hi, I'm Lisa.  And I'm a fair weather blogger.

But, gosh...  I'm sure y'all understand, don't you?

Don't you?

Well, I hope so, anyway!

 If it weren't for the flood of Christmas season chores this past month, and the drought of down time...  If it weren't for all the children that blew in this past week, bringing with them drifts of laundry, storms of meal preparations three times a day, all of which had to be navigated around puddles of fun and gales of laughter....   If I could have done all I needed to do, and not fallen into bed exhausted every night -- I would have been glad to have blogged more often!

But, things have slowed down considerably  All the work and preparation of Advent past has blossomed into the fruit of Christmas present!

As I type, it's  Christmas Monday.  It's the evening.  Everyone except Paul and his family (who are at Nicole's parents') are home now, and it's very noisy and busy -- but most of the day was beautifully peaceful and slow. I got to hang around the house leisurely catching up on laundry and cleaning up the tsunami of Christmas flotsam and jetsam while the kids and Dan went swimming and bowling and I don't know what all.  And now, they're all playing poker back there behind me at the dining room table.

All is right with the world. The gang now has towels for their morning showers, it's possible to walk through the living room, there's food laid out for everyone to nibble on...    And I am here to blog.  So, look out!  Here come the pictures,  and a little catching up.

Our Christmas So Far
First of all, the people. Yes, indeed. We've had people.

The Usual Gang  (plus me and Dan) have been present and accounted for:


Theresa



Gabey



Anna



Cathy

Yuyum

But, then... Paul and Nicole drove in from California last Friday -- and brought, of course, our favorite little Christmas elf, our beautiful grandson, Gavin.



(I just love this one!)



And this one!
(See our little almost-walking dude?)



And Kevvy played taxi cab all the way to Omaha last week from Denver and up over the mountains to us on the western slope. With him were Jon, Michelle, and Jon's buddy and fellow-seminarian, Nathan.  They all got here last Tuesday...



Here's Jon.
"Aw, Mom.  quit taking pictures, will ya?"



And, allow me to introduce Nathan -- a new favorite around here.



And Shelly of course.  Everyone knows Shelly.
But most everyone here (especially her big brothers) calls her "Chicky."
(Long story why that is....) 


My sista, the kids beloved aunt, and my bestest friend drove in last Tuesday -- and had to leave this morning....

No family gathering would be complete without Aunt Nina.
There she is on the other side of Kevvy there, helping
out with the waffle making marathon Christmas morning.

 Dan's parents drove in from California, arriving on Christmas eve.  We get to enjoy them through to the new year!


Here's Dan's Mom, Gavin's great grandma
and special friend.  She and Dan's dad live a short
drive from Paul and Nicole and get to babysit Gavin
all the time.  (We're all totally jealous.) They got in
on Christmas Eve.



Here's Dan's Dad, designated toy-assembler, working on a marshmallow gun on Christmas morning.

 And yesterday, sometime around midnight, while the choir sang like angels at Midnight Mass, our most honored and beloved Guest arrived!  To stay with us until the end of time.


Happy Birthday, Jesus!
Thank You for coming into our world and into our hearts.
We love you.

* Stay tuned tomorrow for a peek at our Christmas decorations -- and our "theme tree" for Christmas 2011.