A Christmas Story

Did you all know that A Christmas Story plays for 24 hours straight on TBS beginning Christmas Eve night? I understand that not everyone can be as fortunate as I am to share in the experience of watching at least 12 hours of said movie. Oh the joy of having little brothers. However I'm not here to talk about Red Rider BB guns or little boys sticking their tongues to flagpoles. I'm here to talk about my family's Christmas story which in my opinion is just as entertaining. Or not.
On Christmas Eve, we (my mom's side of the family) all gather at Mu and Pop's home for food, fun, and fellowship. Or something like that. Also in attendance is the small posse of Santas...They literally are always watching, and to be frank, they creep me out just a little. It appears that I'm not the only one...Even Mu who was responsible for putting them there seemed a little distraught...Or maybe she was just bothered that one of her grandsons was attempting to throw gang signs under her roof. But not nearly as bothered as she would be if she had any idea that this picture of her is now floating around the blogosphere.

For as long as I can remember, it has been a tradition that before we can open presents my aunt, Janie, reads 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Talk about torture on the highest level...sitting still and listening to a story with the temptation of presents under the tree just waiting to be opened. Obviously the listening skills of the great grandkids are no better than those we had years ago...

This year was also Micah's debut as a guitar player. He has been taking lessons since the summer so he and Justin played a duet of Amazing Grace...

I sure hope that Justin remembers his favorite older cousin who let him into college when he's rich and famous. Finally it was time for presents so the kids were tasked with giving out gifts...

Apparently the fact that I am 3 months shy of 30 is a moot point. In my family, you are classified as a "kid" until you have kiddos of your own. [Oh how I hope that the resolution of my parents' monitor is the reason why I look like this in these pictures. Otherwise I need to make some resolutions about spending more time at the gym.] Here is a rare shot of Mu and Pop sitting near each other opening presents...

Maybe the key to 59 years of marriage is to not sit near each other at family gatherings. Or maybe they realized after mom was born that sitting near each other only resulted in more daughters which they could not afford so they stopped. Here they are opening pictures that were taken the Saturday after Thanksgiving...

This is Mu and Pop's brood of 7 grandchildren plus spouses and great-grandkids. What an adventure it was to get these pictures. Just moments before this actual photo was taken, the shoot came to a screeching halt when Ethan passed out. Thank heavens his older sister was close by to catch him when he fell! Too bad she didn't believe him in the moments leading up to the big blackout when he was telling her that he needed to sit down. Instead she just kept telling him to get his hand out of his pocket and smile because it would be over soon enough. She probably won't be getting any Sister of the Year awards anytime soon. So after spending far too long in a cramped studio it makes perfect since to photograph the little ones last...

But at the end of this very special day, it is not about the gifts or the food (I whined to my mom on Wednesday night that it just wasn't Christmas without Mu's red-velvet cake), but it's about a baby who was born to a virgin over two-thousand years ago...

A son who came to save the world. And his name is Jesus.