Second Christmas

After leaving Rochester, we took a detour in Maryland for the weekend of the 28th. Someone recently posted this picture about "Second Christmas," which describes the practice of opening gifts and consuming Christmas foods and listening to Christmas songs multiple times with different families. It occurs to me that if we are doing Christmas properly, there wouldn't be the need for such a name, because Christmas would indeed be celebrated for 12 days. I can't singlehandedly change our society (fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), but it is a goal of mine to keep Christmas going for the full 12 days. This includes music, food, decorations celebrating and general cheer, and in the future I hope to spread out the gifts more over the 12 days.

We need 12 days of Christmas like we need Sabbath, Years of Jubilee, and holidays in general. I am increasingly convinced that our society hates rest. But that's another blog.

We got to stay with Grandma and Grandpa for a full weekend. While there, the kids opened a number of other lovely gifts (among them, new clothes, bath toys, matching ornaments and matching cars. Adele likes her car better than Miles likes his, amusingly) and really enjoyed Grandma's decorations. Grandma has a full miniature village, similar to that displayed with the train sets at Homestead Gardens. Here Adele first pointed and said the word "church." The kids also were rejoiced to play with Grandma's toy nativity set!

The kids were read to and played with and generally loved up as they always are at Grandma & Grandpa's.

Jon and I also had more downtime to play with and observe our kids, and we were able to take a little hot & sour soup date, just the two of us, at the local Chinese restaurant. It was a precious weekend, for all we were a bit tired and under the weather.

This young lady particularly enjoyed the big spaces to trot about and play.

and dance!

At Epiphany, we celebrated by attending our church's potluck and party on Twelfth Night, and then by attending church, opening a last round of presents (from Uncle Tim & Aunt Laura and from our friends from church), and "putting away the Christmas." Unfortunately, dragging out the holiday for 12 days did not remove the sadness of this last day for Miles. We are consoled by our memories, and by dreaming up new things to look foward to in 2013.

Currently going through some trouble with Adele and sleep, and feeling a bit powerless to do much about it as long as the kids share a room. We would welcome prayers, as we can't move house until summer (though I will tell you now, we plan to move house on the earliest possible date).