On Boxing Day, we all made our way to my dad and mom's house to celebrate Christmas, Klassen style.
Clint carved the turkey this year, due to his growing maturity coupled with the shortage of men in our family. (Dad's body is here, but his mind is elsewhere. Daryl was shovelling snow off the roof of the cabin at Cultus. Jim hadn't arrived yet. And I never replaced the one that left. )
He did a spectacular job.
Some of you may be interested in how my mom prepares her house for events like this...This is the kid's table:
The adult table, in turquoise and pewter this year:
It's all in the details, isn't it?
Even the bathrooms get attention:
Outside the bathroom door:
Drew in the den:
The island in the kitchen:
Dining room windowsill:
Corner of the dining room:
Close up of the kids's table...
The adult table, in turquoise and pewter this year:
It's all in the details, isn't it?
Even the bathrooms get attention:
Outside the bathroom door:
Drew in the den:
The island in the kitchen:
Dining room windowsill:
Corner of the dining room:
Close up of the kids's table...
Under the domed glass are embossed boxes; one for each grandchild.
Inside each box was their Christmas money (due to her role as primary caregiver for dad, she doesn't get out to shop much.) and some Purdy's chocolate.
Dad and mom, looking a little tired:
Do you remember this post?
... in the end, all 16 of us filled in most of those sheets.
I saved a piece of that brown paper and added it to our "time capsule" envelope. Mandi's word: "frisk" was just toooo funny. And my sister drew the world's most interesting panda. And Jim got it right away.
Christmas is as good as you make it. It's all in your attitude.
At the end of the day, after Jim and Jac left, after Drew and Mandi retired up to her suite, after dad and mom had gone upstairs for the night, after Daryl and Jul had gone downstairs for the night, I sat on one side of the livingroom downloading pictures and Clint sat on the other - playing with his gameboy.
And this is Christmas.
Three things I'm thankful for:
Each box has the grandchild's first initial on the front of it, and the girls (Sarah and Mandi) got a little something extra added to theirs. (The bow and the shoe sticker).
Too cute, eh?
Too cute, eh?
Inside each box was their Christmas money (due to her role as primary caregiver for dad, she doesn't get out to shop much.) and some Purdy's chocolate.
Dad and mom, looking a little tired:
Do you remember this post?Well, a few days after I had written it, Marj mentioned that she had finished all those sentences herself. But seeing as she doesn't have a blog, I never got to see them. But she said it was a good exercise for her to do.
And then... a few weeks later, she mentioned that she had her whole family finish those sentences. Yeah, that's right. A Family Activity. Where everyone participated. She said it was a hoot. She loved hearing everyone share their answers.
And, well, that got me thinking...
...
So, after dinner, I handed out sheets to everyone with 31 "Finish these Sentences" listed (as well as a few bonus questions for good measure).
I was expecting a lot of negative reactions and I got them.
However, in the end:
... in the end, all 16 of us filled in most of those sheets.My suggestion that we each read out 5 of our answers did not go over well with that younger generation which was disappointing. Jim, being bold and brave, did share a few of his, and then he got emotional. So I did too. Clint then picked up the baton of transparency and shared a few of his thoughts which was the catalyst that got Jac and Jule to share as well. I read out dad's answers and then we put all our sheets in an envelope to be opened again 5 Christmases from now.
The kids say they'll read their answers then.
.
My next suggestion that we all play Pictionary cleared the house out in 2 minutes. Max and Zac had places to go and people to see. "Besides there really wasn't anywhere for them to sleep" in that 8500 square foot home. It was Jake's bedtime and Chad was getting a cold, and Sarah had to look after them, so Jim drove David, Sarah, Chad and Jake home. Then he came back.
.
So mom, Jim, Jule, Jac and I played with dad watching.
Then Daryl joined us.
After awhile, Mandi, Clint and Drew went from watching to participating.
And it turned out to be so much fun.
And it turned out to be so much fun.
I saved a piece of that brown paper and added it to our "time capsule" envelope. Mandi's word: "frisk" was just toooo funny. And my sister drew the world's most interesting panda. And Jim got it right away.
Christmas is as good as you make it. It's all in your attitude.
At the end of the day, after Jim and Jac left, after Drew and Mandi retired up to her suite, after dad and mom had gone upstairs for the night, after Daryl and Jul had gone downstairs for the night, I sat on one side of the livingroom downloading pictures and Clint sat on the other - playing with his gameboy.
And this is Christmas.
Three things I'm thankful for:1. My family
2. My truck.
3. My faith.
Shalom,
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