Christmas 2009...

The Annual Christmas Day Outing

Well, Christmas 2009 is over. It was especially magical this year. Of course the highlight was having Jordan, Caitlin, Lauren, Daniel & Savannah with us. We even had Jordan's fiancee, Bethany, stay a few days with us before she departed for Detroit. Some of us visited the Galaxy of Lights, while others went to see Avatar in 3-D. We sang a few carols as Jordan played the guitar, and we kept Savvy entertained as we created lyrics on-the-fly about why she shouldn't cry on Christmas Eve.

After we read Luke 2, Tami always gives each family member new matching pajamas or

sweatshirts on Christmas Eve. This year we all got Alabama sweatshirts - in honor of the #1 BCS football ranking. Daniel refuses to wear his, being a devout USC fan from the west coast. Some bad habits are sometimes just hard to break....

Christmas morning was the same as always in the fact that Jordan sent us a text message from his bedroom inquiring as to whether or not he could come downstairs to check out what Santa had delivered. Interestingly, Jordan is always the first to awake early on Christmas morning. Every other day of the year he rises somewhere between 10 - 11:30 AM. With holiday tunes

playing in the background, we opened all of the gifts and enjoyed seeing each other's reaction to what was given. We seem to always "over-do-it" at this time of year. But, we have some family members that just have big hearts and love to give.

A New Eagles Jersey!

After all of the wrapping paper has been collected and trashed, we head off (in our matching sweatshirts) to do one of my favorite traditions of all. Several years ago we realized that some folks are still working of Christmas day. While almost every store, gas station, and restaurant are closed, Waffle House (or Waffle King) is still open. So, we always make a trek to the 24-hour local eatery to enjoy(?) a full breakfast and deliver a custom-scripted Christmas Card for our server. Of course, we never know who our sever will be, but it's fun getting to know them and talking about their family a bit before we leave. We always leave a big tip and sometimes get to see their face light up as we depart the front door. This is the coolest part of my holiday. It's also the one and only time I eat at Waffle House all year...

We use the downtime to watch football, basketball, Christmas movies, and play a few board games. Last night we played "Killer Bunnies". Cool game! It's an actual board game for ages 13 & up. It's all about keeping your bunnies alive and collecting carrots. Sounds like an appropriate holiday activity, right? Caitlin & Jordan were the big winners.

Only one thing is missing this year.... While I have decided to be called "granddaddy" in honor of my 93 year-old grandfather of the same name, Tami has yet to decide on what Savvy and others will call her. It makes it tough when you say to Savvy: "Hey Savannah, do you want 'what's her name' to hold you?" Tami is kicking around several options, but for now, we're calling her "No-naay" --> Sounds like Grandma "No Name", right? I suspect she'll choose a name soon.... Merry Christmas!